Awaken Sleeper
by Water Mage
Summary: For years Harrison Potter has been in a mental institution living dreams of magic, wizards, and dark lords. Eventually the dreamer has to awaken. His reality has to be accepted as fantasy. Although some things stay the same... Dresden Files xover.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter either. It belongs to its creator J.K. Rowling and probably Warner Bros. too. I'm not too sure about that. This piece of literature is simply the work of a humble fan. I also credit Jim Butcher for various themes, subjects, or references that I may use.

* * *

Author Notes: This is a Harry Potter crossover with the Dresden Files the book series. All my knowledge of the Dresden Files comes from the books. I've never seen the TV series. For the timeline that will be stated later. Thanks to the folks at DLP for help with editing.

* * *

**Awaken Sleeper.  
**Prologue  
By: Water Mage

Harry jolted awake as if electricity was inserted directly down the length of his spine. His chest heaved and he gasped, clawing at his throat trying to suck in much needed air. He took in too much, and broke into a rapid coughing fit that sent him collapsing back onto the bed. Harry rubbed at his chest. The unconscious habit verified that his heart was beating so hard that it threatened to burst from his chest.

Where was he? He rubbed at his eyes winced at the light. He finally took in his surroundings. He was in a small room. Everything was white. From the crisp sheets that covered him to the ceiling and walls. There was no window, and muted light shined from a bulb in the ceiling. The smell was artificial, too clean, just like the white that covered everything in the room. He was in a hospital. How many times had he seen a similar setup in his life? The answer to that was too many times.

Okay, so he was in a hospital. That wasn't anything different. His head snapped around. Where was his wand? He looked around and saw no sight of it. Usually one of the staff at St. Mungos would keep patients wands near them, usually on a tabletop. But there wasn't a table in this room. Why in Merlin's name would he be in the hospital anyway? He closed his eyes, forcing his mind to recall his most recent, clearest memories. Slowly they came like molasses dripping from a bottle. The last thing he could remember was a raid on a dark magician's lair, Ron had been on his six, green light..and. Nothing. Did the Killing Curse hit him? No. He would be dead if that happened. But it wouldn't be the first time he escaped death's touch. Was Ron okay? So many questions buzzed around his mind.

He slung his feet over the bed, and registered for the first time what he was wearing. He was covered in plain, loose pants and a short sleeve top. Both were the same white as everything else in the room, and they screamed muggle. Harry stared at the clothes with mounting confusion. That sense in the back of his head that screamed at him to _run_, told him to duck— it was yelling at him now, and Harry felt a sinking dread fill his stomach, like a sack of heavy stones. Something was _wrong_.

Harry rose to his feet, and a startled curse left his lips as he tumbled over. He clutched the wall, supporting his weight against the unyielding surface. His body felt tired, weak, unresponsive. Something was definitely wrong. His body had been honed, muscles tightened, and reflexes sharpened under the three years spent undergoing Auror training. Now he felt as if he hadn't used his body in years…Oh no— No. No. Had he been in a coma?

He touched his hair, blanching as it was at least six inches longer than he remembered. He touched his face and felt the tiniest stubble. He didn't grow facial hair well, so that didn't mean anything, but his hair was a telling feature. Whatever happened, somehow, somewhere he had lost time. How much? He fell back onto the bed. A weary tiredness rolled over him, and he was washed under its power. He was asleep before he realized his eyes were closed.

Sound jarred his black sleep. When Harry awoke he didn't jolt awake this time. Harry didn't open his eyes either. He played sleep, tracking the sudden noise with his ears. His body tensed, muscles coiling ready to strike. He jumped up, and darted forward with his right fist cocked back. The move worked in the past when his body was at its peak. Instead of laying out the intruder, Harry's legs strained under the sudden weight completely throwing his balance off. He fell hard on the floor, groaning as his chest and shoulder throbbed. That sure hurt like hell.

He looked up as a shrill scream echoed off the tiny room's walls. He caught sight of a woman wearing a nurse uniform stare at him in amazement, and then she tore from the room screaming for a doctor. Wincing, Harry crawled back to the bed. His ego felt as bruised as his body. Ron would laugh himself stupid if Harry ever told him this story.

A trio of doctors rushed into the room not more than a minute after the nurse's departure. They swarmed around him and Harry instinctively backed up, glaring at them, not even listening to their onslaught of frenzied questions. Their words practically climbed on top of each other, and he couldn't pinpoint one sentence from another. Just as Harry was about to snap, the doctors noticed his agitation finally, and they stopped their rapid interrogation.

"Can you tell us your name?" asked one of the doctors. The name tag pinned at his shirt read _Dr._ _Martin_.

Harry opened his mouth and tried to speak, but his voice came out gruff and raspy. He swallowed and tried again. This time with better success. Although his voice still sounded as if he was just getting over a bad cold. Beggars can't be choosers.

"Harry James Potter," Harry slowly responded, watching the trio carefully.

Instead of the usual looks that often accompanied the sound of his name, they merely glanced at each other trading silent stares. Harry opened his mouth ready to demand answers, but once again the doctors interrupted him.

"Where do you believe you are?" asked Dr. Martin, his voice too calm, too soothing.

It made Harry itchy. His tone was deceptive. Not that he was lying. There were many types of deception. After all the shit in his life, he knew it well. Dr. Martin sounded like he had a secret. He was holding something back and Harry knew it.

Harry stared at him neutrally. "I don't know where I am. How about you answer some of my questions? Have I been in a coma?"

The doctors traded glances again. Finally Dr. Martin replied, "You haven't been in a coma, Mr. Potter. You're at Summerholm. This is a psychiatric hospital."

Harry laughed. "Finally went off the deep end did I? What's really going on?"

Dr. Martin shook his head, not smiling. "You have been with us since you were fifteen years old, Mr. Potter."

_Constant_ _vigilance_, a deep voice boomed in his mind. Moody's favorite phrase, and the motto of the Aurors. Harry didn't react in any extreme manner to this news. He didn't bother to hide the confusion in his eyes, but he nodded to show he understood. Inside he was screaming, demanding to see his friends, cursing the trio of doctors before him. If this was some type of trick or trap, then he would wait, play the game, and then bide his time to attack.

"What happened to me?" He asked. His voice was shaky, not from fear but from the anger in his gut.

He hated when the bad guys played tricks. He swallowed down that building anger. Play the game, he told himself. Play the game.

Dr. Martin did smile then, apparently Harry had reacted favorably. "For the past five years you've been at Summerholm. After witnessing a traumatic event—"

"Sirius," whispered Harry softly.

It didn't take much for him to connect the dots. There was only one event traumatic event that happened when he was fifteen. Harry bowed his head sadly. Or what appeared to be sadness. What the doctors didn't see was his calculating expression or his mouth set in a deep frown, as he racked his thoughts for a situation that resembled this one. They definitely didn't cover this scenario in Auror training. But he always did do well improving.

"You and your godfather were mugged while coming from a movie. He was killed protecting you," Dr. Martin paused in his slow and soothing explanation. He gauged how Harry was taking it, and he nodded to his colleagues as they made notes on clipboards. "Your mind couldn't cope, and you retreated within yourself. "

Harry reacted how he thought they expected him to as he listened to them describe his _condition_ of the last "five years". Apparently he retreated within himself, and created a fantasy world in his mind. In this world he was special. Harrison didn't exist there, but "Harry" did. Harry was a hero who despite thrown crippling circumstances nevertheless rose above and defeated all his foes. This increasing dissociation of identity, and mild schizophrenia left him for the past five years in an unresponsive state. The physicians knew of his fantasy because he would often have episodes, talking aloud, showcasing his alternate life. The more he listened the more Harry realized that whoever these people were, they knew a lot about him.

"It's a modern miracle that you've recovered out of nowhere," said the doctor to the right of Dr. Martin. His nametag proclaimed him _Dr. Roberts._

Harry stared at three doctors. "You're all yanks?"

Dr. Martin nodded. "Summerholm is famous for its specialists who work with patients with conditions like yours. We're in Washington, DC. "

"What?" blurted Harry, the surprise wasn't faked this time.

"Two years into your condition," said Dr. Martin "You were moved here by your parents."

His mouth went dry and his world tilted on its axis. The entire room stared to spin. His stomach flipped upside down, and his heart almost burst as emotions exploded within. Harry closed his eyes fighting away the sensation of the spinning room. Joy, disbelief, hope, and caution all warred within his heart, one after another fighting for dominion over his thoughts. His parents. _His parents._

"My parents…" said Harry slowly looking down, refusing to see their eyes. He didn't want to see their expressions. "They're alive?"

"They never died, Mr. Potter," replied Dr. Martin gently.

Harry wanted to hex them all. They deserved to rot in hell for making him feel this hope in heart. He didn't want to acknowledge the tiny sliver that blossomed inside his chest. A part of him wanted their story to be true. His parents. Alive? It was his greatest weakness, and his fondest wish. But so many things didn't make sense. He was not some twenty year old insane kid. He was twenty two, a wizard, an Auror, and the hero of the wizarding world.

Harry looked at the doctors after collecting himself. "Can I have some time alone please? I just need a minute to gather my thoughts."

"That is perfectly reasonable, Mr. Potter," conceded Dr. Martin.

The trio of doctors left leaving Harry alone with his cycling thoughts. This trick was going not how he expected. Where was the torture? They had the mind games down stat, but even those weren't going textbook.

"What the hell is going on?" whispered Harry to the quiet empty room.

He was torn in two. Should he continue playing along and see what happens? Or option two. When they walked through that door should he drop the act and show them what an Auror _really_ is?

Decisions, decisions.

* * *

This story is indeed a crossover with Jim Butcher's, "The Dresden Files" series, and inspiried by "Far Beyond Normal" by Jakl. This story will be set in Dresden universe, and it will not be absolutely necessary to have read the books beforehand. The story will be easy to follow. The story isn't just Harry in a mental hospital. Its just the beginning. He'll be getting out in chapter three, and chapters will be longer once his hospital stay ends. As far as Harry being able to do magic... what kind of Harry Potter story would this be if Harry was non-magical? A boring one. He'll be getting his magic alright.


	2. The Games We Play

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter either. It belongs to its creator J.K. Rowling and probably Warner Bros. too. I'm not too sure about that. This piece of literature is simply the work of a humble fan. I also credit Jim Butcher for various themes, subjects, or references that I may use.

* * *

Author Notes: This is a Harry Potter crossover with the Dresden Files the book series. All my knowledge of the Dresden Files comes from the books. I've never seen the TV series. For the timeline that will be stated later. Thanks to the folks at DLP for help with editing.

* * *

**Awaken Sleeper.  
**Chapter One: The Games We Play  
By: Water Mage

He was an idiot. The stray thought hit him like a solid fist, and left him feeling like a first year. He was nobody's prisoner. He jumped up from the bed smirking. Wand or not he could still apparate. No one could take that skill away from him. If he was really across the pond and in bloody America, it would take an extremely focused and careful apparation to journey back to England, or he would be more than splinched. So no rushing. He could do that. Closing his eyes, Harry called up his destination. He determinedly willed every fiber in his gut on holding up the image in his mind, shaping it, letting the destination become his only thought. He moved with deliberation and turned on the spot, feeling into that point of nothingness and… did a complete 360 degree turn.

"Smashing," he drawled, frowning heavily at the door of his room.

His fists clenched and unclenched as rage bubbled in his gut, threatening to spill over. Okay then, he thought. Okay. It was a mantra he often repeated since the days of early training. It calmed him, centered his thoughts, and made him realize he had some thinking to do. What could prevent him from disapparating out of here? He didn't feel the lurch of anti-apparation wards stop him. He felt nothing in fact. He sat his weak body back on the bed, a tired sigh leaving his lips. He paused, an idea bouncing in his head. If his body was psychically exhausted then maybe, just maybe he was magically exhausted as well. It made sense, but he had no way of accurately testing it without a wand.

A knock sounded at the door and Harry tensed. A blond head appeared in the cracked doorway. Seeing Harry, the person smiled and the body followed the rest of the head. It was the nurse from earlier he realized. He sized up the petite blonde and when he looked at her brown eyes, they were twinkling under a raised eyebrow.

"Do I pass?" she asked with a teasing smile.

Harry shrugged, still not completely relaxed. "Do you need something?"

"The doctors thought you might like to use the shower room," she said in that same caring voice that the doctors used.

It grated against Harry's nerves. He wasn't used to be coddled, and never would be. He accepted her offer partially surprised his capturers were letting him out of his cage. Nurse Jennifer Hewett, "just call me Jen", was in her early thirties and had worked at Summerholm for five years. She prattled on about so many things making his ears ache from the constant stream of chatter. He tuned her out the best he could, frankly he was more interested in the building that held him.

"Well here you go," she smiled, jerking a thumb at the door behind her.

Harry nodded. "Thanks, Nurse Hewett."

He refused to call her by some nickname. The familiarity was just a ploy, bait used to develop trust, and Harry wasn't falling for it. The nurse's smile dimmed a bit with confusion, but she left Harry alone after he gave her a short nod. He slowly opened the door, and cautiously stepped into the room. The bathroom was normal enough. It was communal with a dozen showerheads spaced in a row toward the back. Sinks lined the wall to his right and to his left was a large bin for dirty laundry. Cabinets were marked with tags naming their inner contents of towels, scrubs, and patients' clothes. He grabbed a set of fresh clothes, identical to his own, and a towel. The towel of course matched the white of everything else in this place. He was getting real sick of white.

Harry slipped off the slippers and padded across the cold tiled floor to the shower. He tugged off his clothes and stepped under a spray of blissfully warm water. The water massaged his skin and felt good against his tired muscles. His long hair weighed heavily on his head as he stared at his toes. He reflected on the decision he made just before Nurse Hewett had come into his room. He had to continue playing the game. He really had no other options. He couldn't apparate, and if he did manage to fight his way out, who knows what type of security awaited him. He needed more intel before making that call.

This was too confusing. There were factors he was sure he was missing, but his brain felt like someone had set off a bomb within it. It was all too much information to take in. Where was Hermione when he needed her?

He shut off the water and crossed the room to the sinks. He grabbed the towel he had laid there and diligently began to dry his body. He looked himself in the mirror. The man who greeted him had pale, snow white skin and dark green eyes. He had definitely seen better days. Harry pushed back the wet hair that dragged across his shoulders. With the movement he revealed his forehead that was…scar free.

"Fuck me," he swore, unable to take his eyes away from the sight.

There was no scar. Not even the tiniest traces of a scar that had once been. Impossible. He rubbed his forehead harshly, as if the action would cause his scar to reappear. This wasn't right. Nothing could remove a curse scar. It was created by dark magic and had seeped into skin, bone, and soul. Once it was there, it was there for life. He expected the scar to even follow him in the afterlife.

Harry slammed his palm on the sink. "Who the fuck are these people!"

He dropped the towel on the floor, and bent over snatching it from the floor. His head cocked and he stared at the hanging appendage between his legs. Something was…His eyes widened to the size of saucers and he couldn't help the dropping of his jaw. He poked it with his finger once then again. Harry swallowed heavily, and wrapped the towel around his waist. He quickly ran his eyes up and down his body looking for other changes. The scar from where Wormtail sliced his arm for Voldemort's resurrection ritual was gone.

He didn't have his glasses and could see perfectly. He corrected that with magical surgery last year, cost a shitload of galleons, but it was worth it to not have glasses in the field. All a dark wizard would have to do is summon his glasses from his face, and he was a blind target. So having perfect sight wasn't telling. He racked his eyes carefully over his body and noticed for the first time a definite difference in musculature. He was skinny and had none of the tone and definition he was used to seeing on his body. A nagging cord of doubt tugged inside him. This was going way past the fucking M.O. they schooled Aurors on about dark wizards. He dismissed the thought, swatting it down and locking it away. This _was_ a trick.

"Okay then," he sighed, clutching the sink in a white knuckled grip. "Okay."

He took deep breaths to center his mind. He still wanted to grab a wand and lay waste to every one of these bastards, but with each exhale the overwhelming urge faded till it was only a quiet thought. He had to get out of here. He couldn't take the sight of his reflection anymore. That wasn't him. He didn't care what a mirror showed him. He was _not_ Harrison _fucking_ Potter. He knew who and what he was. Scar or no scar, he was Harry Potter and magic ran in his bloods, as sure as oxygen filled through his lungs.

Harry stepped from the shower room and was immediately greeted by Nurse Hewett. She noticed his blank, neutral face but made no point in stopping her endless monologue that Harry obviously had no interest in.

They walked past the door to his room and he snapped his head toward her. "Where are you taking me?"

"There, there," she said quickly. "We're just going to Dr. Martin's office."

Harry nodded slowly, turning away and losing interest in her once again. She watched him with that confused smile once again, as if she was unsure of her own self. Probably wasn't used to people deliberately dismissing her. Welcome to the club. She led him to a room with an opaque window, Dr. Martin's name emblazoned on its surface.

"Well here you go, I'll see you later," promised Nurse Hewett all bubbly and sunshine.

Harry hated her. A captor with a nice personality he could not handle. It turned his stomach seeing her smile, knowing that she was merely biding her time. Dr. Martin was seated behind a huge desk, and stood up once Harry entered. He glanced around noting the filled bookcases, worn brown couch, and long, rectangular window that threw golden sunshine onto the furniture.

"Ah, Mr. Potter," said Dr. Martin, smiling politely. "Please, have a seat."

Harry sat on the couch he gestured at, and gauged the doctor who took his place on an adjacent armchair. Dr. Martin's dark hair was gray, and he looked to be well in his fifties, but his eyes were intelligent and sharp behind a pair of thick frame glasses.

"How are you feeling?" asked Dr. Martin.

Harry shook his head. "Bugger that," he snapped, his eyes narrowing with sudden anger. "Would you mind telling me something?"

Dr. Martin started in surprise at the abrupt anger. "What?"

Harry leaned closer, staring him down like a hunter watching prey. The anger he squashed down in the shower room when he noticed his body's state rose to the surface. His teeth clenched and he couldn't hold back the glare he leveled the physician with.

"Why in the hell am I circumcised?"

There was a pause that lasted two beats.

"I'm sorry you had to find out in such a way," replied Dr. Martin, regaining his senses. "When you were seventeen you were diagnosed with pathological phimosis. This is basically a hardening of the foreskin, and prevents it from being retractable. Circumcision is the most effective surgical solution and your parents consented to the operation."

This guy was good. Harry actually found himself seriously nodding along for a moment. Cutting his fucking foreskin was above and beyond a fucking mindfuck, but they were pulling out all the cards with this trap. That nagging doubt grew stronger. Something _else_ was going on. Maybe there was truth in his words. His scar was fucking gone—No! He was not going to fall for this. His life wasn't some psychotic dream of a madman. He was Harry James Potter. Harry James Potter. Harry James Potter. Harry James Potter. Harry James Potter.

"Are you alright, Mr. Potter?" asked Dr. Martin, frowning.

"I'm fine," he answered with a fake smile. "Just remembering something."

Dr. Martin took his word. He started talking about Harry's miraculous recovery, and wanted to try and figure out how Harry did it. He wanted to develop a working method to use on other patients with similar conditions. And this is where Harry began to improv like it was going out of style. Since they knew all about his "delusions" he just fleshed out what they already knew, and spoke of how he started to realize that being a hero for an entire world was a curse, rather than a blessing. It was almost partial truth, but Harry hadn't felt like that in years. After truly killing Voldemort he rightfully earned his hero status. Dr. Martin didn't need to know that however. Harry spoke of how he became increasingly disillusioned with his wizarding life, and strived for normalcy. Now all he wanted was to live his life as just a normal man, and put the past behind him. It was a bloody pile of dragon shit, but Dr. Martin ate it up. Harry inwardly rolled his eyes. What were these people going to gain by this? The doubt screamed at him, and he shoved it back. This was not going to break him.

Dr. Martin made a mark on a notepad and stared at Harry with his assessing eyes. "What do you feel right now, Mr. Potter?"

"Relieved." _Confused._

"Happy." _Pissed._

"At peace." _Irritated_.

Dr. Martin nodded, pleased. "That's good to hear," he said, a slow smile spread across his face "I have some good news for you."

Harry leaned back on the couch. "You guys are going to let me go now?"

"Not quite yet, Mr. Potter, but there are some people who would like to see you."

Harry sat up. He studied that odd glint in Dr. Martin's eye. It was I know something you don't know look, and he didn't like it. Was this where they brought in the torturer? Has the curtain finally fallen?

"What if I don't want to see them?" asked Harry defiantly.

The glint became amused. "I'm sure you do."

Harry stamped down the urge to kick him in the chest, and mustered a simple, "Oh?"

"When you regained your senses we informed your parents. They came straight here," said Dr. Martin, a small smile gracing his face. "We've had quite a time keeping them in the lounge."

He stilled. He couldn't move. That buried fleeting hope exploded in his heart. Its force nearly sent him reeling. Harry took deep calming breaths. His parents were dead. Dead. Dead. _Dead_. Dumbledore's wise voice penetrated his thoughts _no magic can bring the dead back to life_. He took that and used it to compose himself. These dark assholes wouldn't get the satisfaction of seeing him break down. He adopted a smile, forcing it wide and bright.

"Well let's see them then," he said, chuckling. _Let's see the bastards that attempt a pathetic impersonation of dear old mum and dad._

The doctor went to his desk and spoke into an intercom. Harry frowned at his tapping foot. He laid a hand on his leg and realized it was shaking. Fuck. He clenched his hands into fists. His nails bit into his palms and he tightened them harder. Focus on the pain Potter. The pain was real. The pain was a feeling he created. The world around him may be false, but as long as he could feel the pain in his hands then he wasn't completely living a lie. The door opened and he jerked his head around, and simply stared.

James and Lily Potter were in their late thirties. James was tall and his black hair was peppered with gray. His hazel eyes were bright behind a pair of thin glasses. Lily's hair had darkened to deep red, and she had similar wrinkles as James at the corner of her eyes, where their faces tightened up from frequent laughter. They were dressed in muggle clothes from head to foot. Lily in a short dress and denim jacket, and James was clad in jeans with a blazer over a t shirt. Harry's heart pounded in his chest as he drank them up with his eyes. They did the same except their eyes were shiny with wetness, and tears swiftly began to trail down Lily's cheeks.

"Harrison, do you—" James trailed off, choking up.

Harry couldn't help the gasp that left his mouth, hearing his _father's_ voice. "Dad?"

"Oh, baby," cried Lily, rushing forward and throwing her arms around Harry

His father joined the hug and they muttered words of thankfulness over and over, crying and generally squeezing the breath from his lungs. He was as still as a statue. They didn't seem to notice so caught up by emotion. Harry ignored their teary murmurs of "Harrison, my little boy" they kept repeating as if in benediction.

Lily leaned back, smiling tearfully. She ran a hand down Harry's face. "Mum's here, baby."

Harry's eyes widened as he stared into her green eyes. Those shiny, tear filled eyes were the same eyes he saw in the mirror everyday. They say that a child will always know the sound of his mother's voice. No matter how much time has separated them. Her words echoed in his mind and struck a chord deep in his soul. He knew this was a trick, but he couldn't fight his arms rising on their own accord wrapping around them, joining the hug.

He swallowed heavily, his voice coming out a mere whisper. "Mum."

Lily broke into a wide smile, so bright and overwhelmingly full of love that it made his heart ache. That nagging doubt that he kept at bay hammered down every defense he put up around it. It rolled over him like a sea dragging him under, and filling every part of his body with a throbbing intensity. Harry returned the hug embracing them tightly, as a new feeling coursed through him. Panic. It screamed through his body rising up so thick and powerful, that he could almost taste it.

_Deep magic. _What if this was _real?_

* * *

The reviews for the first chapter were really positive and motivated me to get this chapter out quickly. This story will be different and I think readers will like the direction it will go in as far as Harry being in the Dresdenverse.


	3. This Kind of Manipulation

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter either. It belongs to its creator J.K. Rowling and probably Warner Bros. too. I'm not too sure about that. This piece of literature is simply the work of a humble fan. I also credit Jim Butcher for various themes, subjects, or references that I may use.

* * *

Author Notes: This is a Harry Potter crossover with the Dresden Files the book series. All my knowledge of the Dresden Files comes from the books. I've never seen the TV series. For the timeline that will be stated later. Thanks to the folks at DLP for help with editing.

* * *

**Awaken Sleeper.  
**Chapter Two: This Kind of Manipulation  
By: Water Mage

The Sorting Hat hadn't lied when it said that Harry should have been in Slytherin. Sometimes it was just too easy to manipulate people. Flash his pretty green eyes, and people thought he was the most naive boy that could never do wrong. It was a trait he had noticed in recent years, and exploited it relentlessly at a given opportunity. This time was no different.

His psych evaluations had been going on for days now, and the week, as well as his evaluations, was coming to a close. He was being observed constantly, closely monitored for signs of degeneration in normal behavior. If he passed all these tests then he would be as free as a convict on parole. It wasn't a matter of if he passed, more _when_ he passed. Harry worked each physician like a hooker trying to land a trick. He used every bit of charm he had picked up from Bill Weasley and his cheeks were beginning to hurt from all the amount of smiling he was doing. Today he even got to wear normal clothes, four days after his abrupt "recovery". It was normally against hospital regulation, but he had most of the staff swayed by his charm. It was almost too easy.

Harry sat in the patients' recreation room at a table that overlooked the sprawling countryside. He stared at the sun, watching it but not really seeing it. His mind ran repeatedly over the conclusions he had formed over the last few days. He had tried apparition everyday, only to fail at every attempt, but still held onto the hope that his magic was simply replenishing itself. His reasoned that the Shift, as he had termed it, must have completely drained him of every ounce of magic in his body. The other probability was one he refused to entertain. There was no way that he had dreamed his life. He had been through too much shit for it all to be just some fucked up delusion of an insane boy. Magic was real damn it.

Things were different here. In this world, reality, dimension, universe—he didn't know what to call it. The Dursley's never let him watch TV, so he didn't know the correct usage of the word Science Fiction shows tagged to these scenarios. It was 1998 here and back home it was the year 2000. But he was twenty in both places. He didn't know why the two realities timelines were skewed, and didn't care. He wanted to know _how_? How was here in the first place, wearing this body, in this situation? He had given up on this being a trap set by dark wizards after the third day. There was no point to putting him through this. It just wasn't malevolent enough. Throw in some good old fashion rapin' and some torture then he sure as hell would have called it. But these people were too nice, too friendly, too polite, and intent on helping him with his recovery.

On top of it all there was the Potters, who were everything he had ever wanted growing up. Both were ecstatic to have their son again, and Harry was awed more than anything at having them fawn over him. The most surprising thing was the four year old son the couple had. A brother. He had to shake his head. This whole week was the most surrealist of his life. The little boy was named Aiden Potter, and he had dark, reddish brown hair and hazel eyes. Harry hadn't met him yet, but Aiden sounded like the sweetest kid. James and Lily didn't want to bring him to the hospital, since he had a habit of getting fussy in inappropriate settings.

Adjustments had to be made. He had to stop thinking of them as Harrison's parents, and even turned now when he was called Harrison. It made things easier all around. He couldn't have his doctors know that he still thought without a shadow of a doubt that he was Harry Potter, wizard. He knew it and believed it, but they didn't need to know that. If he wanted out of this jailhouse then he had to get with the program. He was going to work this system. Harrison Potter had been a cationic schizophrenic, but Harry Potter was someone they had never dealt with. He turned toward the doorway just as Nurse Hewett sauntered over. A slow smile spread across his face. Thus starteth the lesson.

"Hi, Harrison!" she chirped, yes chirped, as she neared his table.

The room was thankfully empty and Harry was momentarily bitter that others weren't _graced_ with her presence as well. He screwed his fake smile on a little tighter and smiled at her, putting a little juice in it so it reached his eyes. He applauded Albus Dumbledore for that little trick.

"Hullo, Jen," he said rolling the word hello slowly across his tongue, as if it were a caress.

Harry puzzled out that she had a thing for accents, and dialed up his whenever she was around. She was annoying as hell with her constant talking, but was dead useful at fetching things he needed. She reminded him of a golden retriever in a way with her fair hair, countless efforts to please him, and besotted adoration. If he boozed her up no doubt that she would be quite the freaky bint during a good shagging.

The nurse blushed just as he predicted she would. "All ready for your session with Dr. Swanson?"

"Sure," he rose up from his seat, and bowed lowly. "After you."

She giggled like a dainty schoolgirl and he wanted to gag. But he just smiled charmingly and followed her from the room. Nurse Hewett didn't know a thing about the English. She assumed all Brits did a lot of bowing, and bravado acts of chivalry like defending honor, and standing up when in the presence of a woman. She was a bit dim, but he played up to it. It was a small price to pay for having ears on the inside. After working at Summerholm for five years Nurse Hewett had built up good relations with all the staff, so she quietly kept Harry updated on how he was doing on his evaluations, and what the doctors thought about his progressing behavior.

"Dr. Swanson's a friend of mine," Nurse Hewett prattled on, barely taking enough pause to breath. "So I put in a good word for you."

Harry winked at her. "Thanks. A little bit goes a long way."

Two pink dots appeared on her cheeks and Harry chuckled inwardly. She reminded him a bit of Ginny when she was younger. He didn't enjoy playing with her feelings, but he would do anything to get out of here. If that took manipulating the people around him to get what he wanted, then so be it.

"I like your clothes," she said smiling and all but batting her eyelashes.

Harry smoothed out an imaginary wrinkle in his polo. "Thanks. I'm told they're very stylish."

She nodded far too quickly, making Harry speculate that she would soon suffer from neck pains. "They are!"

"Oh, I meant to thank you for earlier," said Harry suddenly. "For setting up that phone call to my parents this morning."

"Don't worry about it," said Jen, waving her hand dismissively. Although she was beaming rather blindingly at the appreciation. "I know the doctors want you to focus on your recovery this week for your evaluations. But it's your parents. Who cares if they may 'taint' your answers?"

Harry nodded and wondered did she even realize that the only reason she setup the call is because Harry had made a remark about wanting to talk to them. He had put on a crestfallen expression and sighed sadly for good measure till she finally got a clue, and suggested it. All the while she never realized it was Harry's intention for her to do exactly that.

They came to Dr. Swanson's office, and Nurse Hewett reluctantly bade Harry goodbye. It was a sentiment that he didn't share. It was creepy and a little uncomfortable that the decade older woman looked at him like a prisoner on death row about to eat her last meal. He would weep with the joy the day he left her clutches. He faced the door and took a breath. Here we go. Showtime.

Dr. Swanson was a woman who reminded him eerily of Professor McGonagall. They looked nothing alike. But the no nonsense personality was stamped all across her face that was perpetually fixed into a blank mask. Harry had only met her briefly once before, and from their chat he had garnered that it was best not to charm his way with her. She had taken one look at him during their encounter, and her lips had thinned into a clear line of confused contemplation. There was no way his smile or _innocent_ green eyes were going to give him a leg up on her. He had to be much more subtle with manipulation in his dealings with her.

He entered the office and dark brown eyes pinned him on the spot. If he hadn't lived the life he had then he would have been nervous. A strict psychiatrist was barely a blip on his radar. She brushed her short, wavy hair away from her face. Hair that was just as dark as the deep black eyes that calmly assessed and weighed him. Harry took a seat without being told, mentally wondering if all the physicians in Summerholm had the same old couch and armchair set. Dr. Swanson opened her pad and clicked her pen, already jotting down notes. Harry fought down the twitch in his lips. If Snape were alive then this would be his perfect mate. Both had zero personality and constant surly expressions.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Potter," she finally said, with the slightest smile that you had to squint to even see.

"Hello, Doctor," he replied, mirroring her smile. He would take his cues from her then go from there.

"So how are you feeling today?" the Doctor asked. "Any previous symptoms appear recently?"

Harry shook his head, putting on an ecstatic face. "I'm feeling great! None of my old episodes have made a comeback."

"That's good news," she replied, marking on her pad once again. "Any unusual dreams or frequent daydreams that distort your perception of reality?"

"No," answered Harry, pretending to think carefully. He even added a custom head scratch as he squinted up his eyes thoughtfully. "None that I can think of, Doctor."

Dr. Swanson made a nose of acknowledgment, and bent her head scribbling casually in the notepad. Harry patiently sat on the couch, pretending to be interested in the paintings that adorned the walls. She had a thing for abstract art. None of the paintings looked like one thing, and the more you looked at it the chances it had of morphing into something else.

"I want to talk about your delusions," said Dr. Swanson, training her penetrating gaze on him. "How do you feel about them being gone?"

"Honestly, I feel relieved," answered Harry, smiling crookedly. _Play the game_ echoed never-ending in his head. "That world wasn't what it was cracked up to be. I would rather be here, in the real world, any day of the week."

Harry continued on like that. He spun his tale like a spider spinning a craftily woven web. It was a web of lies, each supporting the other, till he built up quite a sturdy support. He told her that he recognized his previous fantasies and dreams as delusions, and reiterated his point that he knew that the real world was where he wanted to be, and the life of a wizard was unacceptable. Now he wanted to be Harrison Potter, no more, no less. Harry Potter was dead.

Harry nodded emphatically to one of her questions, and then schooled his face into one of confusion. "I don't understand doctor. The world— the dream. Why would I create such a place?"

"The murder of your godfather was a mental trauma that was too painful and overwhelming for you to even fathom, so you retreated inside a fantasy world where you had the power to protect yourself and friends."

Harry wanted to scowl, but that would throw off his whole reformed insane image. Bollocks. She sounded so sure of herself and it pissed him off. Who the hell was she to act like she knew his life, knew the shit that he had been through? Faced with a day in the wizarding world it would be she that would be driven mad by all the shit she couldn't explain. She wouldn't last ten hours. Bet on it.

"So with your theory in mind…" said Harry slowly wearing his thoughtful face again, "It doesn't make sense that Sirius died again in my fantasies." He made his eyes wide and innocent. "Now does it?"

Dr. Swanson cocked her head, eyes widening in surprise. "You're right. You make an excellent point, Mr. Potter."

She was gazing at him with a speculative eye now. Harry smirked inwardly. He had her. She was no longer looking at him like you would look at insects through a glass cage. Dr. Swanson looked interested and surprised that Harry actually had enough brains to poke a hole in the doctors' collective theory. Stick around folks, the show's not over yet. These doctors didn't know who they were fucking with.

"Why wizardry in the first place?" asked Harry, his tone a little stronger and surer further capturing her attention. "I could have dreamed to be Prime Minister—sorry, President. Or I could have dreamed that Sirius and I never went out that night."

Dr. Swanson tapped a finger against her chin in deep thought. "You raise excellent topics. I would speculate that—"

She took the bait.

Dr. Swanson told him her theory and Harry pretended to listen attentively. She didn't suddenly become his best friend or as dutiful and dotting as Nurse Hewett, but there was a noticeable shift in her behavior toward him. His manipulation was subtle but it worked. Dr. Swanson had reasoned that there was actually intelligence in him, and it wasn't often that she dealt with perceptive patients. From Harry's initial observations, she had regarded him with pity and a bit of disdain. He had played on that flaw, turning the session into less of an interrogation and more of a meeting of minds. He mentally tipped his hat to Kingsley Shacklebolt. He didn't learn his skills by playing wizarding chess with Ron. There was a rumor in the senior levels of the Ministry, that Shacklebolt was grooming Harry to one day take over as head of the Aurors, and for the first time the rumors hadn't been too far off. Looks like some of things he learned was paying off sooner rather than later. He tuned back into Dr. Swanson.

"—and I believe that your scar actually symbolized a distinction you unconsciously placed upon yourself to set you apart from your fictional environment," theorized Dr. Swanson. "After all none of the other soul items or victims were marked in such a way."

_It was a curse scar, bitch._ He turned his sneer into a puzzled frown, wiping it from his face. She was definitely warmer toward him, but he didn't have to like her presumptions. He may have manipulated her into it, but she was talking about his life like, like some bloody fairytale.

"You'll have a lot of catching up to do," said Dr. Swanson, suddenly switching topics. Or maybe Harry hadn't really been paying attention. Probably the latter. "You've missed five years. You'll have to get a GED. It will be hard, but I think you'll be able to cope."

Harry didn't know what the hell a GED was, but he nodded along as if she was spouting the meaning of life. She recommended that Harry make appointments to see a psychiatrist once a week, to talk about how he was adapting and to discuss if his delusions return. Harry grinned. All he had was one more evaluation tomorrow and then the senior staff would discuss his case. If they deemed him sane enough he would be free to leave the following day. All this was according to Nurse Hewett. He personally thought she rode the short bus, but he would give her the benefit of the doubt. The woman seemed to know her job.

Harry was free to leave and was thankfully escorted back to his room by a different nurse rather than Nurse Hewett. Her shift had thankfully ended for the evening. Good. He was tired of looking at her smiling face and lustful eyes. That woman really needed to get laid. Harry entered the tiny room and winced at how cramped it seemed after spending hours from its cell-like confines. He lay on his bed spread out as much as the single sized mattress would allow.

It was about time he got some shit straight. He was almost out of Summerholm and he needed a game plan. There was no way that he was just going to go on at life as Harrison Potter, and put his entire history in the back of his mind labeled as 'bad ass dream'. No way.

He needed answers. Harrison Potter had somehow tapped into the fantastic and extravagant life of Harry Potter. Harry snorted and rolled his eyes then frowned. Harrison was his alternate self he reasoned, so if he was here, in his body, then where was Harrison. Did his mind, his soul, remain somewhere in the unused parts of his psyche. Or was everything Harrison was get consumed or simply burned away with Harry's abrupt resurrection in this body. Did he kill his double? He shook his head. It was pointless to continue that line of thought without evidence to back up the claim. Until he had solid answers all he had were theories and half formed guesses and that wasn't good enough.

What was curious was the fact that Harrison was even able to transcend space and time to view his life. They didn't share the same soul, but the essence of what made them, well _them_, was the same as the last name they both shared. So that was the link of how Harrison was able to zero in on him. Harry closed his eyes. There was something he was missing. He followed that line of thought—there. His eyes snapped open staring at the solo light bulb in the ceiling. Seeing things that cant normally be seen was divination. Did that mean Harrison was a seer? Fuck that. Divination was about power, magical power. Which meant that Harrison was magical. Magic _did_ exist here.

"I fucking knew it," he grinned triumphantly, staring hard at the speckled ceiling.

Okay then, he thought sighing with sudden relief, okay. Magic was real. Magic was real. Magic was real. He wanted to shout it from a rooftop, but that would only prove that he was as insane as he was proving he was not.

Magic was fucking real. It felt so good to know. An inkling of dread had gnawed at him for days, and had only increased when he failed at another go at apparation. He grasped onto his magical exhaustion idea, and used it to fuel his belief that he wasn't crazy, and he really could do magic.

Now if Harrison could do magic did that make him a wizard? Were there even wizards in this world? Hell, was there even a wizarding world. What could he do about a wand? Harry swallowed as the list grew longer and longer. He knew nothing about this new place he was in. Everything could be turned upside down. If Harrison could do magic then his body, now Harry's body... was it capable of magic? Were their magics even compatible? Was that why Harry couldn't apparate? Maybe Harrison's magic didn't work like Harry's.

"No," he whispered aloud, dismissing that thought.

He was going off of speculation again. He had no proof of their magic meshing or he only having Harrison's unfamiliar magic coursing through his body. Maybe he really was suffering from magical exhaustion. He just had to be calm and rational about this. Going off half cocked had gotten him fucked over more in the past more times than he could count.

Harry sighed stomping down the urge to get up and pace. There were too many factors in this equation for him to solve. There was a huge piece of this puzzle that he felt like he was missing. He had an odd feeling that rubbed at him, hinting that he knew how he came to be here but his mind refused to cough up the damn information. Every time he focused on that train of thought it grew foggier and more obscured, as if he didn't never really know the answer after all. It was tad bit more than frustrating.

The things he knew so far were, he was Harry James Potter and four days ago he was a twenty year old Auror, liberator of the wizarding world from Dark Lord Voldemort, and orphan. He was on assignment. A routine raid. The actual incursion was hazy, but curses were flung from both sides. He may've been hit. There was green light. Was it the Killing Curse? He was still alive however. But that didn't mean much when it came to him. Was he dead? Was this his afterlife? Nurse Hewett flashed across his mind, beaming and waving wildly. Hell no. He chuckled. Speaking of— It was definitely not that place. Voldemort would have given a shout out by now.

The further sequence of events is when things got crazy. Literally. He suddenly woke up and found out he was some bloke named Harrison Potter, who was insane and had dreamed everything Harry had ever been through in his life. He was twenty years old, and had been in Summerholm for the last five years dreaming of Harry Potter to the point of being almost catatonic, like some kind of super prophet who couldn't turn their ability off. He wasn't positive on the psychic bit, and he was most likely completely wrong. As far as he could see, there was no trace of Harrison in him. He may have his body, but all of his mind and soul was Harry Potter. What constituted magic in the body remained to be seen?

_Deep magic._ His brain started to ache from the information overload. He wasn't cut out for all this in depth logic and reasoning for a mystery as big as this. Hermione would have probably puzzled it together faster than you could say _Hogwarts, A History_. He massaged his fingertips against his temples. Where was the Hardy Boys when you needed them? Probably off gangbanging Nancy Drew. He would be surprised if even they could solve this mystery. Harry massaged his temples harder, headaches always managed to send his thoughts scattering and incoherent.

He was still locked up in the loony bin so there wasn't much point in his constant thinking. Right now his thoughts just constantly circled, starting, finishing, and then starting back over in a cycle. Right now he needed to focus on finishing the week out and getting out of here.

"I can't wait for that to happen," he finished his thought verbally, contemplating what the outside would be like.

It had been years since he had really lived in the muggle world. He hoped that he didn't fuck up something completely normal that most people took for granted, which is what often happened to muggleborns when in the wizarding world. His parents practically gushed about having him home, and how his room was already for him when he came. Harry wouldn't admit it out loud, but he was basking in the attention that bestowed upon him. It might be selfish of him for him to revel in the affection that rightfully belonged to Harrison, but it looked like for the time being he was Harrison Potter, for better or worse.

Harry definitely counted on the for worse. His life was never anything but quiet. It would be a cold day in hell before fate let go of Harry Potter. New name or new body, he was not through being destiny's plaything. When he got out here it was only a matter of time before a Quaffle would be thrown at this new life. He had to start getting a move. The sooner the better. He ran through his thoughts and Harry mentally began to list the things he had to do.

Test magic.

Find out about magic in this world.

Figure out how Harrison had managed to spy/get lost/see in my life.

Look for Harrison's soul. Destroyed, hiding, lost?

Search for a way home.

Harry checked his list twice. It was better he didn't write it down. It was safer to just keep it in his head. The list wasn't very long, by any means, but the tasks were daunting. It wouldn't be the first time. Nothing ever was simple for him. Alternate world or not. It was hell of a lot to do, but a boy's got to have a goal.

* * *

Harry Dresden will eventually play a role in the story for those who asked. For those wondering if Harry will use magic, just wait. Its coming. The chapters will be getting longer as well. His stay in the hospital wasn't intended to be long drawn and out. This is the last chapter we'll see Harry in the hospital. Next chapter he's free.


	4. The R in Real

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter either. It belongs to its creator J.K. Rowling and probably Warner Bros. too. I'm not too sure about that. This piece of literature is simply the work of a humble fan. I also credit Jim Butcher for various themes, subjects, or references that I may use.

* * *

Author Notes: This is a Harry Potter crossover with the Dresden Files the book series. All my knowledge of the Dresden Files comes from the books. I've never seen the TV series. For the timeline that will be stated later. Thanks to the folks at DLP for help with editing.

* * *

**Awaken Sleeper.  
**Chapter Three: The R in Real  
By: Water Mage

Harry stared into hazel eyes. They were light brown near the pupil and dark green on the outer part of the iris. The eyes were locked onto his in an unblinking battle of wills. Harry couldn't take it anymore. He tore his eyes from Aiden's piercing stare. He looked at his parents, frowning with apparent confusion. He made a motion toward the child sitting across the kitchen table.

"Umm…" said Harry, unsure. "Is he retarded?"

"Harrison!" Lily gasped, stunned.

Harry flinched, his neck flushing with embarrassment. "I'm sorry, I don't know the proper term. Is he mentally challenged, then?"

James went into a sudden coughing fit that sounded suspiciously like he was trying to cover up a laugh. Lily slid the glass of water she was drinking near him, and gave him a disapproving frown. It turned into fondness as she turned to Aiden. She ran her hand through his short reddish brown hair. He smiled, but didn't make a sound, a fact that Harry was still wondering about. It was why he made his initial conclusion.

"Aiden's just shy," said Lily, smiling softly at her little boy.

James shared the smile, and turned to Harry. "He's perfectly healthy. Really bright, too. He's just never spoken a word."

It was Harry's first day in his new home and his first time meeting Aiden, his little brother. The little boy was strange. There was no other word he would use to describe him. His eyes were bright and they stared at you in a way that stated he knew things about you that you would never know. It was like he knew some great secret that you would never hope to know the answer to. It left Harry feeling unnerved and oddly curious.

"We've had doctors look over him half a dozen times," continued Lily. "Aiden has everything needed to speak. He just chooses not to. He let out loud yell when he was born, but after that—"

"Nothing," added James, picking up the end of her sentence. "He never even looks like he wants to talk."

They still loved him though. It was written all across their faces. He knew parents loved unconditionally, and to be witness to it was enough to make him look away. It was what he had wanted all his life. Now that he was thrust into it the reality of it was much more real than his childhood imaginings. The maudlin emotions they practically exuded was almost overwhelming. The closest thing he had to such a display was the Weasley's, but he always felt like an outsider, as all non-red head's felt when surrounded by the large clan. It was different when it was his own family, his parents. He stood up suddenly startling both himself and his parents.

"Do you guys mind if I go lie down for a bit?" he asked, trying to not to let on how uncomfortable he was.

"Oh, dear," said Lily fretting. "Of course you must be tired. You've had a hard a week. Come on, honey. I'll show you to your room."

Harry followed his mother from the room and they navigated through the foyer and up the stairs. They didn't say a word all the way. Harry didn't know what to say. It was an awkward situation. What do you say to the one person you always wanted to meet? Frankly, he had too much he wanted to say. He just didn't know where to begin. He chanced a glance at his mother. Lily looked just as nervous as he felt. He imagined that her thoughts echoed his own. They walked down a long hall and Lily stepped in front him to open the door.

"We brought all of your things from the old house in Sawbridgeworth," she said hesitantly, trailing off into silence.

Harry managed a shaky smile. "Thanks, mum."

Lily met his eyes, and Harry was surprised at the tears that threatened to fall. She threw her arms around him so fast that he barely missed her moving. He stumbled back as she sniffled on his shoulder.

"Harrison…" she murmured tearfully. "It's so good to have you home…"

Harry swallowed thickly. "I—uh…"

Lily laughed quietly through her tears. "You sound just like your father."

She wiped her face and kissed his cheek. Harry bade her goodbye and quietly closed the door. Leaning against it he breathed out a heavy sigh. His head hit the door with a soft thud. It was definitely going to take him awhile to get used to this family stuff. The problem was he didn't know how to act. He didn't know what they expected of him, and honestly he didn't know what he expected of them. For the last twenty years James and Lily Potter were almost godlike in his imagination. It was nerve wracking to be in their presence. He didn't want to find flaws in the them, and he was terrified of them finding flaws in himself. He wasn't perfect. But he wanted to be for them.

Harry took in his surroundings for the first time. A window with sky blue curtains let in warm sunshine. Harry walked over to a desk and picked up a picture frame. It was a picture of him and his parents. _Merlin, _he looked young. More appropriately, _Harrison_ looked young. The little boy had to be all of eight and he sat in between his parents on a porch swing. Little Harrison, with his missing two front teeth beamed up at the camera. Lily and James had matching joyful grins, and it was plain to see that their little family was one filled with love. Harry slowly dragged his eyes off the picture. He pretended the pang in his chest was from heart burn.

On a shelf were a collection of trophies and ribbons. Let's see. Perfect attendance. Honor Roll. A few tall ones with a little, gold man in mid-sprint mounted on top. Harrison was quite the track star. At least that was one thing they had in common. Harry wasn't the greatest athlete. Besides Quidditch, running was something he excelled at even at a young age. Dudley and his never-ending games of _Harry Hunting _in his younger years served to make him one of the fastest kids in their school. He ran his fingers over the huge _Terminator_ poster that covered a good portion of the wall next to the television. He looked at the books in the bookcase and wasn't surprised that he hadn't heard of but a few of the titles, and he only knew those because he read them in primary school. Hogwarts hadn't been big on muggle literature.

Harry opened the closet and took in the clothes. Most of the clothes were brand new. His parents had gone on a shopping spree to help him get settled in properly. There was an assortment of clothes from plain, white shirts to fancy collared shirts, and jeans and dress slacks. Shoes, that looked his size, were arranged in a neat row beneath the hanging clothes. He didn't know much about muggle fashion, but he could tell these were really nice clothes. Harry hadn't asked, but he could tell the Potters were well off. They had picked him up from Summerholm in a very expensive looking car. It looked brand new and he was sure it was fast if the jaguar emblem that adorned the hood was any indicator of speed. The house they lived in was in a neighborhood called Spring Valley, and it sat amongst large mansion homes and tree-lined streets. With the way his curiosity was burning at him, he probably wouldn't last till tomorrow night before he asked what they did to be so well off financially.

Harry took a seat on the bed. He had to start dealing with the real world. He was out of Summerholm now, and he knew that he had to do something about his education. The GED had been explained to him, and it was something that he definitely needed. If he was going to be in this world for the foreseeable future then he would need it. He couldn't stay with his parents forever. Not if he wanted to figure out the answers to his questions. The answers were out there and he had to find them.

His mind wandered to everything going on back home. He shut down that line of thinking quickly. Getting all melancholy would just get him depressed. He was already feeling too emotional over being with his parents. Continuing with all the sentimental thinking would turn him into a wreck. If he wanted any hope of keeping himself together then he had to be a rock. He laid back and a loud yawn made its way out of his mouth. Damn. Maybe he really was more tired than he thought. Sleep came over him with barely a passing thought.

He was dreaming. With that realization came control of his dream self. He looked at the landscape that surrounded him. He stood in the middle of an ongoing field of rolling gray mist. The thick, billowy puffs of gray crawled along the ground, so thick that he couldn't tell what existed beneath the mist. He didn't like it. This place was odd. It was real yet not. A force hummed in the air just behind his vision. But he could feel it. It crawled along his skin like a million ants, making him tingle with numbness.

Thunder rumbled in an unknown direction and like a hidden signal, all hell broke loose. A sudden storm destroyed the silence, and its howling force shattered the slow drifting trajectory of the mist. The ground fog rolled past him impossibly fast, and he threw up a hand as the wind broke against his body. The fog grew thick and impossibly more abundant as it rose up around him like a furious hurricane. It twisted and formed into a giant tornado that swirled around him in a continuous cyclone of gray. Images flashed against the spinning inner walls.

They appeared so fast that Harry barely caught a glimpse before the image changed and was replaced by another one. Three radiant glowing swords. _Flash._ A group of cloaked men and woman. _Flash. _Silver coins raining from the sky. _Flash. _An older image of himself wore a white circlet and stood between two shadowed women, gripped in his hand was a wand with its tip shinning a familiar green light. _Flash._ A long staff with glowing runes whipped through the air unleashing a devastating inferno. _Flash._ He tried to catch the face of the staff's wielder, but the tornado suddenly flexed and Harry was flung back as if hit by a speeding train.

Harry snapped awake, gasping. "Shit."

He rolled off the bed and stumbled into the bathroom. He reached out for the sink and turned the faucet on, splashing cool water on his flushed face. He let out a ragged breath and leaned heavily against the counter. Harry closed his eyes. What the fuck was that? His mind whirled with echoes of his dream. It was more than a dream though. After years of receiving visions from Voldemort, he could tell this episode ran right up that alley. He didn't understand it. Any of it. What was that place? Those images? None of it seemed familiar. Were they premonitions? But that was wrong. He wasn't adept at clairvoyance. His failing score in Divination for O.W.L.s confirmed that. Harry slowly brought his head up and stared at his reflection in the mirror. Harry didn't have a talent for divination. But Harrison did. His half formed theory about Harrison's talents just gained some evidence and became a little more solid. Were those images he saw of the future?

"This is unexpected," he muttered sourly.

If there was one thing Harry hated and that was visions. Sure they could be dead useful in a pinch, but deciphering the visions was always a bitch. He didn't have a clue as to where to start with piecing together the random images. They seemed to have nothing in common and they all changed so quickly that he barely took in what he was even seeing. One image in particular stuck out in his mind. An older version of himself with a wand. He slapped the counter. _Merlin_. There was hope for his magic returning after all.

A knocked sounded at the bedroom door. "Harrison," called James, behind the closed door. "Time for dinner."

"Alright, Dad," Harry called back, shutting off the faucet. "I'll be right there. I'm just washing up a bit."

Harry looked himself over in the mirror. It looked like he got into a fight with Crookshanks and lost. He ran some water through his hair to attempt taming it. It was no use. He didn't know why he bothered some times, he thought, scowling at his image. He looked a bit disheveled, but he couldn't do anything about it. He took a breath and wandered downstairs.

He entered the kitchen catching the tail end of his father laughing uproariously. Lily beamed at him and pulled out the chair next to her.

"Sit here, dear," she stated, taking the empty plate before the chair and loading it up with food.

Harry awkwardly took his seat. "Thanks for letting me sleep a bit."

"You looked exhausted, son," said James, resting a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry about anything now that you're home. Things are going to be better for everyone now."

Lily smiled, sitting the loaded plate in front of him. "We get to finally be a family."

Aiden pointed at himself with wide eyes. James laughed and ruffled his hair. "Yeah, you too, funny guy. You're a part of this family."

Aiden smiled with a familiar lopsided grin, and Harry blinked witnessing the smile he saw many times on his own face. His little brother smoothly met his gaze and Harry was again the first one who broke the stare.

"I have a ton of questions," said Harry, picking at his food.

"We expected it. The doctors told us your mind's still healing," James responded, smiling sympathetically. "They said your memories are probably just suppressed. A form of second amnesia."

"Selective amnesia, James," corrected Lily. She turned to Harry. "You can ask anything, honey. Maybe it will jog your memory."

Harry thanked whoever was listening that the doctors bought his act. It made things that much easier. "I was wondering about all of this actually. Everything seems really expensive. Did one of you rob a bank? Are do you do it together?"

James laughed, loudly. "My boy still has my sense of humor."

"I don't think that'll ever change," said Lily, shaking her head.

James finally reigned in his laughter, but couldn't completely wipe away his grin. "I'm Vice President of a business your grandparents started. We deal with manufacture, design, and research in the aerospace field. It's pretty profitable, I guess."

Harry could tell he was being modest. He had seen more than two cars when they pulled into the garage earlier. All of them were new, shiny, and radiated money.

"So the company was started in America?" asked Harry.

James shrugged. "We have offices here and back home."

Whoa. So the business was very successful then. "I know you guys moved here after I got sick, so does that make us Americans now?"

Lily chuckled. "Darling, you were born here."

Harry dropped his fork. "I'm not English!"

James coughed into his hand, hiding his smile. "Harrison, you're both. We all have dual citizenships. You and Aiden were born with U.S. citizenship, though. When your mum was pregnant with you we were here on vacation, and she went into early labor."

"Completely unexpected." Lily laughed, eyes bright with the memory. "Our flight home was actually that night. You were quite the surprise. Since you were born on U.S. soil you automatically gained citizenship. Same with little Aiden."

Harry took in their stories with visible fascination. These were the stories that he always wanted to hear. People talked about his parents all the time. What they looked like, what they were like, but to hear stories come from the actual source took on a different light.

"Are you guys sad that you left?" asked Harry watching their expressions closely.

"Never," answered Lily without missing a beat.

"We'd do it all again if it meant you got the best care possible," stated James, with an empathic head shake. "We still go back on holidays to visit friends. We stay in the house in Sawbridgeworth, or the old place in London."

Aiden clapped hands happily. James snorted. "He really likes the London place for some reason. Always has. Every time we visit he explores like it's an old castle."

Lily raised an eyebrow. "Whose fault is that? As I recall, it was you who showed our son the dumbwaiter. I swear if I catch him hauling himself up that thing one more time I'll have it removed."

James eyes twinkled as he stage whispered, "She says this all the time. It's hilarious really."

His father's amusement was infectious. Harry found himself grinning back, playing along. "I know right. She goes on and on. Nag, nag, nag."

Lily's red hair whipped around and her wide eyes landed on Harry. "Traitor!"

"There, there, Mum," soothed Harry, patting her hand.

Aiden mimicked Harry and patted her other hand, though he was smiling brightly unlike Harry who wore an expression of mock pity.

James thumped Harry on the back, his eyes shining with powerful emotion. "It's good to have you back, son."

Harry smiled and meant it. "It's good to be back."

* * *

The days passed and eventually turned into weeks, and before he knew it two months raced by. Harry spent the better part of the two months preparing for his GED. With the tutors his parents hired, along with his parents coaching him, Harry was able to pass the test and obtain his GED credential. He had to study his ass off. There had never been any muggle school for him past primary school, and things like Social Studies and Science were only vague subjects to his mind. Harry could now rattle off the process of cell division, as easily as the five Principal Exceptions to Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration.

The dream that he had on his first day at home hadn't made an encore, and Harry was chalking it up due to fatigue. This was more than alright with him. The images didn't feature him or anyone dying, so he wasn't going to open an investigation. It's not like that was the first unusual dream he had ever had in his life. He wasn't a big fan of the visions, and he was better off if he never experienced another one.

James and Lily had been great. He thought they would be bothered that Harry didn't know a thing about them or his life pre-la la land, but they didn't begrudge him for that. He knew he was acting more like Harry and less like Harrison. After being gone from their lives from so long, the couple was just glad that they had their son again. Harry wasn't afraid to be himself anymore. They were accepting of him, and they went out of their way to make up for lost time. There had been many nights they did things together as a family. Harry had been out to the movie theater now more times than he had ever been in his previous life. That also included going out to eat, the amusement park, and even simply eating dinner together as a family. He treasured these family gatherings and grew to love his parents.

He loved his _real_ parents too. For their sacrifice and for bringing him into this world. Now having experienced a loving family and spent time with them, Harry grew to love them for them, not just because they were different versions of Lily and James Potter. It was probably because he was desperate for parental affection, he didn't think on it, but he loved Lily and James just the same as if they were the same people who 'thrice defied the dark lord'.

Did that make him fucked up? Maybe. He didn't care. He had his parents and he wasn't going to dismiss that. That didn't stop him from trying to find answers. His quest was still ongoing. He had to put it on hold due to the time constraints the GED put on him, but now that was over. He could now devout his full time to figuring out just what the hell was going on. The easy part was done with. Now it was time to work on the harder goals. It was time to get to work.

"Damn it!" Harry swore, striking the backspace key.

The cursor deleted the errant letter and tongue sticking out, Harry pecked at the keyboard before him, searching out the wayward keys that seemed to be in no particular order. How in the hell had his parents and everyone on television made this look so easy. It was boggling to his mind. Harry finally spelled out his query, and dragged the mouse over then clicked enter. The search engine brought up over two million results for _magic wands_. His mouth dropped and he stared at the unbelievable number.

Harry rolled his eyes and closed the page. "Fucking useless."

His parents had explained to him about the internet and how it was used to find tons of information at only the push of a button. So far his searches hadn't brought up any concrete results. He had tried to find hints of real magic in this world, and looked up people he knew from the other world. He came up empty on all fronts. Nobody he knew existed here. The sites on magic proved to be duds. None of them dealt with the magic he knew, and the magic they listed came off as very fictitious.

"Hey, what are you up to?" asked James, entering the study with a briefcase in hand.

Harry shrugged and spun around in the swivel chair. "Nothing. Just trying to get a handle on this whole internet thing."

James loosened his tie and took off his jacket. "It's getting faster all the time. I've been thinking about buying some stock in a provider company."

There was one thing he had learned about James Potter and that was he was a businessman through and through. Grandfather Potter had taught everything he knew to James before he passed. Evidently it was a lot. His father had a grasp of numbers that left Harry gaping sometimes. Hermione was quick, but his father took it to another level when it came to scenarios that dealt with profits, quarterly reports, and productivity calculations.

"Did your therapy session go well this morning?" asked James.

He refrained from rolling his eyes. The once a week therapy sessions had become partially irritating. He couldn't tell the doctor how he was really feeling and what he was really going through, so Harry and his therapist had a relationship built on lies. Not that he had a problem with that. It was just getting frustrating that he had to keep going and even building on the lies. In the long run it was a waste of time, and he would have to find a way to see that the sessions came to an end. He was tired of the sympathetic smile and endless "how are you feeling now?" that always got positive responses. Once a month he could maybe deal with. Once a week was trying his patience.

"It was alright," answered Harry. "How was work?"

James groaned. "Ask me that in two hours."

Harry smiled, partly in amusement and partly with pride that he had gotten good at gauging his parents' moods. "That bad?"

"Worse," responded James. "Incompetence was the theme of the day."

Harry smirked. "Is this the part where you say, 'and one day this will all be yours'?"

"I was saving that little number for a particularly dreadful day," James chuckled. He stretched his whole body and yawned. "I think I'm going to go make some tea. You want a cup?"

Harry nodded. "Sure. Thanks, Dad."

By the time that Harry shut down the computer and made his way downstairs his father was talking on his mobile phone, or cell phone seeing as how they were in America. He talked furiously into the phone all the while his arm was waving wildly in the air. Harry poured milk in a cup then added his tea. Sipping softly, he watched his father pace the space of the kitchen growing more irritated at "Mark" the longer he stayed on the phone. Finally, James slapped it closed. He glowered at the device for a moment. Harry wondered if he was trying to melt it with his eyes.

Harry blinked. "I guess there's a problem?"

James offered a rueful smile. "Turned out I was being nice when I called my employees incompetent. There's a problem and they need me to personally come and fix it." He picked his keys up from the counter. "Your mom went out to the grocery store really quick. Can you watch your brother until she gets back?"

It was a simple question, but it was important. Harry had never been asked to watch Aiden by himself. For his dad to be asking him meant he really trusted Harry. He didn't see him as the recovering insane son. He was responsible and was getting the chance to prove it. Happiness swelled in his chest. He would not let his parents down.

"I can watch him, Dad," he replied, seriously.

James mirrored Harry's sober expression, and nodded affirmative. "I know you can, son. Take care of yourselves."

Harry watched him leave and the door slamming shut echoed through his ears. He could do this. Piece of cake. He had babysat Teddy loads of times whenever Ted and Andromeda wanted some alone time. He wandered into the living room and found Aiden engrossed on the floor intensely drawing a picture.

"Hey, little guy," greeted Harry, kneeling down beside him. "What you up to?"

Aiden looked up at him, blinking at Harry as if he just realized he was there. Harry peeked at his picture. It was a simple child's drawing of a bed and two stick figures were floating above it or falling onto it, Harry couldn't tell.

"This is a great picture, Aiden," said Harry. "You want to hang it on the fridge whenever Mum comes back?"

Aiden slowly shook his head. His eyes were glassy and unfocused. Harry frowned and rubbed his brother's small shoulder. "You okay, Aiden?"

Aiden rubbed his eyes and nodded. When he refocused he smiled and nodded harder this time.

"Were you having trouble seeing?" asked Harry, concerned.

He scrunched up his face and nodded. Harry cupped his cheek and looked into those hazel eyes. "I remember that happened to me when I was about your age I think," Harry muttered, thoughtfully. "You may need some glasses. I'll talk to Mum and Dad about it. So you're okay now?"

Aiden held up a hand and made the okay sign.

Harry laughed and rubbed his hair. "You're pretty resourceful at the non verbal stuff, huh?"

A wide smile and a shrug was his answer.

Harry shook his head smiling. He had never heard a word from Aiden in the two months he had been here. He didn't think that he ever would. The five year old was perfectly content on keeping up his voluntary silence. With the way he looked at you, Harry got the feeling he was mentally cataloguing every word for the one day that he did feel like speaking.

"I'm going to go get a drink of water," said Harry, rising to his feet. "Do you want anything?"

Aiden shook his head and gave him a thumbs up. Harry returned the gesture and went back into the kitchen. Aiden was a strange little boy. There was no doubt about that. But he was the most perfectly behave and sweetest child that Harry had ever seen. Once Harry had almost stepped on an insect and Aiden had jerked Harry back by his pants leg and pointed to the insect in his path. Aiden guided Harry around the insect, and actually gave it a wave goodbye when they passed it.

Harry returned from the kitchen, stepping back into the living. "Hey Aiden," he called out distracted by the large array of snacks he managed in his arms. "I got us some snacks. I wasn't sure what you liked so—" Harry stopped and looked at the empty spot that Aiden once resided in. "Aiden?"

Harry dropped his armload on the couch and called out for Aiden again. Of course silence was his answer and Harry groaned. Great. He already lost his little brother. He did a quick look in the living room and then wandered into the hall, all the while calling out Aiden's name. They really needed to get him a whistle, a horn, or something. How would they ever know if Aiden was in trouble if he refused to speak?

Harry quickly searched the first floor then hurried upstairs. He didn't have cause for concern, but tell that to his rapidly beating heart and the frantic worry that increased with each passing second. Aiden's room was right across the hall from Harry's room and faced the backyard. Harry jerked open the door, Aiden's name already leaving his lips before the door even fully opened.

"Aiden where are you?" called out Harry, loudly. He turned away and almost exited the room, but stopped as he noticed the curtains shifting in the wind from the wide open window. No. He couldn't have. Harry sprinted to the window. "Aiden?"

He stuck his head out and his heart that was rapidly beating threatened to explode in his chest. Aiden stood on the ledge of the roof that extended out about a yard from the window. Aiden didn't move from the roof's edge, but he slowly turned his head and looked back at Harry. His hazel eyes were serene and lacked no fear at the possibility of the bone crushing drop.

"Aiden!"

_Deep magic._ What the fuck was he doing? Harry didn't think. His body moved before he even thought the action over. He made his way out of the window holding tightly onto its frame. He licked his suddenly dry lips, and holding tight to the window frame he reached out with the other arm for Aiden. Harry's fingers barely scraped against Aiden's shirt. He screamed inside his mind praying under his breath to not let Aiden fall. He couldn't fall. He couldn't. Not Aiden. Please not Aiden.

"Aiden, come here," Harry pleaded, stretching his arm so far that his muscles protested against the strain. "Come here, Aiden!"

Aiden's smiled beatifically and held out his arms and simply stepped forward, right over the edge.

Harry yelled as his arm reached further out. He let go of the window frame as his grip loosened and he lost his balance. He fell forward right at the same moment as Aiden. Wind bit into him as the ground rushed forward. He grabbed wildly at Aiden and closed his eyes seeing nothingness, as they twisted in midair. All he knew was the oppressing darkness that circled around him, Aiden's body supported against his, as they went sideways through space and time…

Without warning, they landed on something unbelievably soft that sent them bouncing once, then settling peacefully on its surface. Harry opened his eyes. He was in Aiden's bedroom, lying on his bed. Aiden's small body was held tightly against his, both of their grips were so tight that their knuckles were turning white.

"I just apparated," panted Harry, shaking as the adrenaline left his body suddenly tired.

Aiden lifted his head and Harry was surprised, as the boy brought his lips to Harry's ear, like he was about to tell a secret, and to his shock whispered, "Okay now, Harry. Okay. Alright now, brother."

* * *

Feels good to finally write Harry with some kind of magic. Squib Harry was no fun. Raise your hand if you think Aiden is creepy!


	5. You Think You Know Somebody

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter either. It belongs to its creator J.K. Rowling and probably Warner Bros. too. I'm not too sure about that. This piece of literature is simply the work of a humble fan. I also credit Jim Butcher for various themes, subjects, or references that I may use.

* * *

Author Notes: This is a Harry Potter crossover with the Dresden Files the book series. All my knowledge of the Dresden Files comes from the books. I've never seen the TV series. For the timeline that will be stated later. Thanks to the folks at DLP for help with editing.

Since some asked I decided to do a brief sypnosis of the Dresden Files for those who haven't read the series. Its about a professional wizard named Harry Dresden who works in Chicago as private investigator, who is actually listed in the yellow pages under "Wizards". Surprise, he's the only one listed. Magic is real in his world and the general public is unaware of the things that exist outside of the realm of normal. Along with magic there are ghosts, vampires, demons, spirits, magic users, and faeries and various entities of the dark who seek to disrupt the balance of the world. Dresden's job is to protect the normal population from these forces, and he does so with the help of various allies from Chicago's Special Investigations officer Karrin Murphy to holy sword bearers known as the Knights of the Cross.

* * *

**Awaken Sleeper.  
**Chapter Four: You Think You Know Somebody  
By: Water Mage

All those cliché lines about time stopping in a critical or defining moment— it was true. The world around Harry came to screeching halt and the only thing he registered was his beating heart and hazel eyes that looked not just into his eyes, but into his soul. Aiden wore a serious look, an expression that would have looked ridiculous on any other child, but instead fit perfectly on his cherubic face. Without warning the look switched. A sunny smile split Aiden's face, and he happily clapped his hands.

"Aiden—what—" Harry stopped and growled as the words died on his lips. His thoughts ran so wild that it was difficult to pin down a solid one. He finally grabbed a hold of the most prominent one, tugging it loose from the lockup. "Never, never, never, ever, ever do that again, Aiden!" he demanded, staring him down. "Do you understand me!"

Aiden nodded mutely. He took his finger and crossed his heart. Harry rolled his eyes and relaxed the death grip that he had on the younger boy. Harry gathered Aiden in his lap and hugged him. He took a moment to let the shocks sink in. His heart gradually returned to its normal, steady cadence and he was able to breathe without sounding like he just ran two miles. He picked Aiden off his lap and sat him down next to him. Aiden had picked up one of the action figures off his bed, and was currently enthralled in marching the toy down the folds in the comforter.

"What was that Aiden?" asked Harry. "You talked— you called me Harry! Bugger that, you jumped off a roof!"

Aiden looked up at Harry and it was a stare filled with pity. Harry felt like there was something he was missing. He always speculated there was some answer that Aiden knew that he wasn't privy to, and right now that speculation had turned into a full blown accusation. The little boy knew things. He could feel it. Harry bent over to his level and met him eye to eye.

"What do you know?"

Aiden brought up a finger, pointed to his eyes, and then to the top of his head.

Harry frowned, his hard stare morphing into confusion. "Aiden, you can talk. Why don't you just tell me?"

A finger was placed against his lips in a classic gesture of quiet. Harry gave him a scowl, as Aiden mimed zipping up his lips. Cute. He really was a piece of work. Harry wanted to grab him by the shoulders and shake the piss out of him, but that would just be counter productive.

"Okay, then," said Harry, sighing. "Okay. You have a thing with talking. I get that. I don't understand what you're trying to prove. What is—"

Aiden hopped off the bed and scampered to the cluttered desk next to his closet. He snatched a paper from the top and ran back to the bed. Harry took the offered paper, his baffled face slowly turned into surprise as he processed the image, its true meaning now clear with an inaudible _click_ in his mind. It was the picture from earlier. The two stick figures above the bed suddenly gained an impossible depth. Harry swallowed staring stunned at the drawing of him and Aiden falling to the bed.

Harry lowered the paper, gaping at Aiden. "You knew…" He cleared his suddenly dry throat. Oh boy. "Can you see things, Aiden? Things no one else can…"

He nodded, pinning his eyes on Harry. Aiden repeated his earlier motion of pointing to his eyes, and then to his head. Harry realized what he was getting at.

"You can see it in your head?"

Aiden nodded affirmative. Harry did some quick thinking as Aiden went back to playing with the toy. Harrison and Aiden had the gift of divination. So it was obviously a trait passed down through the blood. A strong gift if Harrison losing himself within Harry's life, and Aiden _drawing_ the future was any indicator of strength. Aiden had called him Harry. Not Harrison. He even orchestrated the roof jumping just so Harry could successfully apparate them both to safety. That means he knew damn well who and what Harry was.

"Alright, you want to play the silent game," reasoned Harry with frustration creeping into his tone. "Well, here's what I know. You can talk, but choose not to. You can see and draw the future. You know who I am and what I can do." Harry leaned closer and snatched the toy from Aiden's hands, causing the little boy to finally give him undivided attention. "So everything's not alright. I need answers,_ brother_. Now."

Aiden frowned at Harry and reached for his toy. Harry threw it across the room finally giving into his rising frustration. "Aiden stop it! This isn't a game! This is my life, and I need to know what all you know."

There was a small part of the human mind that still lingered from the prehistoric era. It warned whenever a predator was near and danger was at hand. It was a primordial sense that kept humans alive for eons. Now that same sense blared inside Harry. You push a tiger too much and the tiger will push back. Harry unconsciously moved back as Aiden's face went slack with no emotion, and he suddenly became frozen with an unnatural stillness. Hazel eyes, dark with something _else,_ landed on him and Harry found himself unable to move. They held him in place, and didn't as much as look _at_ him, but _through_ him. He felt those eyes pierce his very being, slithering through his insides, picking and tossing aside bits of soul, and finding out what made him tick.

When Aiden spoke again his voice was that sing-song, high pitch quality that all children spoke in, but it was different. There was an unearthly hollowness in his tone that carried the words and made them echo in his ears and in his thoughts.

"Blood, blood, blood. My blood. Your blood. His blood. One, two, three, again two, back into one."

"Okay, let's just pretend I didn't say anything," said Harry weakly, staring at Aiden with dawning realization.

The four year old shook his head and his hazel eyes cleared and that stormy presence disappeared as if never there. Aiden plucked the thrown toy from the spot on the floor. He went back to playing as if nothing unnatural happened.

"Creepy, little midget," Harry grumbled, staring thoughtfully at his brother.

Aiden was powerful. Harry had never seen a human actively initiate clairvoyance. The gift of foreknowledge was known to be an elusive and highly unpredictable branch of magic. McGonagall had good reason to snip at the subject during his schoolboy years. There was no sure way to learn, acquire, or truly be taught the craft. Hence the reason why there was a section devoted to its study within the Department of Mysteries.

What was the prophecy that Aiden just delivered? No meanings jumped at him. It had to be why he was here. It just had to be. Harry had demanded his answers and Aiden had delivered, just not in the method that he would have liked. The words were unforgettable. In fact the whole episode was permanently stamped in Harry's mind. Aiden had answered his question and Harry had no clue what he meant. Typical. This was the reason why he hated visions. Aiden had mentioned blood. Was that the key to deciphering the riddle? The blood they shared, the blood that granted them their gift of divination, was there something else important about it?

"Aww! Look at my two boys!" cooed Lily happily, appearing in the doorway. "Are you bonding?"

If you could call it that, Harry thought, outwardly putting on a cheerful face. "We've been having a great time hanging out."

"Have you been teaching your little brother those bad words you're so fond of?" asked Lily with a teasing smile, stepping into the room.

Aiden jumped into her arms and she picked him up, hiking him up onto her hip. Lily tickled his side and he giggled hysterically, batting at her hand. Aiden snuggled his head into the crook of her neck smiling. He turned his head to Harry, and his face was devoid of any warmth or smile. Perfectly blank.

Harry shook his head unable to take his eyes off Aiden. "Other way around, Mum. He actually taught me a thing or two."

* * *

Dinner had been an odd affair. At least for him anyway. He just couldn't shake the sight of Aiden acting so normal. After the events of earlier it was like a switch between two different people. Aiden treated Harry like always. Aiden warmed back up to him, putting aside his seeming dissatisfaction in him, which wasn't without reason. Harry did throw his toy across the room. That was sacrilege to a child.

Lily left to go put Aiden to bed and Harry cleared the table. He put the dishware in the washer, his body working on autopilot as his mind ran in circles. He could apparate now. Meaning his magic was back, and he was again operating at full potential. Well not at his fullest potential. His magic had replenished itself, but he was still a wizard without a wand. A well of magical energy did little good for a wizard without a wand to focus its power. The chances of him finding a wand in this world were slim. Theoretically, Harry could make one. The concepts had been covered in History of Magic and Charms classes, but even then he would require a sample taken from a magical creature to power its core. Without a magical core a wand, no matter how expertly crafted was little good. It was like having a flashlight without the bulb.

James came in through the kitchen's garage entrance as Harry finished loading up the dishwasher. "I think your old man needs to find some new employees. To think I actually pay those idiots a salary is ridiculous." He grabbed the loaded plate Lily sat aside for him earlier. "Were you and your brother alright here by yourselves?"

"We had a great time," said Harry, lying through his teeth. "Aiden beat me at checkers twice. He probably thinks he's the greatest thing since Saturday morning cartoons."

James clapped Harry on the back. "I knew you two would be fine on your own. "

Harry shrugged. "Just wait until he becomes a teenager. You'll be singing a different tune."

"Life's dull unless there's a little excitement," said James, raising his fork in a mock salute. He winked at Harry and took a huge bite.

Harry threw the dish towel at him and sprinted from the room laughing. He jogged up to his room and closed the door after him. It wasn't like his father would come after him, not with the distraction of a full plate of food before him. It never hurt to be safe. It was weird being this playful with his father, but it was steadily becoming normal the more time passed. Harry locked the door behind him and crossed the room to the bed.

Okay, he sighed heavily. Okay. His magic was back and that satisfied his theory about this body being compatible with his magic. It was time to test his other theories and finally go searching for his answers. He hopped to his feet. Apparation meant that he had the ability to transport himself without anyone being the wiser.

Ultimately, Harry could also prove that he wasn't insane. He was Harry Potter, wizard. Magic existed and he could prove it. His parents would finally learn that Harrison hadn't been dreaming a fantasy world. Harry stopped. Oh no. Harrison. He wasn't Harrison Potter. No matter how much he pretended. He wasn't born in this world, he wasn't from here, and this wasn't his real family. If Harry told his parents the truth, then they would ask where Harrison was. Where was their son? Harry had no clue. He ignored the chilling thought that whispered his soul had been destroyed with Harry's rebirth in this body. He wouldn't go there.

Harry came to a conclusion. He knew what he had to do. James and Lily were the most important people in his life. Real parents or not, they were the closet thing he had to a mother and father. He wouldn't take their son away from him. He wouldn't be the one to tell them that Harrison's soul was gone and Harry was now invading their little boy's body. He couldn't be the monster that extinguished the joy they felt at having the miraculous return of Harrison. That was it then. They would never learn the truth. Harry would be Harrison for them. They loved their son. And Harry loved being their son. It was sick but if it spared them heartbreak, then so be it.

_Merlin, _he thought, shaking his head. He was getting way too introspective. Without anyone to talk to he was spending too much time picking apart his thoughts. He had to get out of here. Being here was going to really end up driving him insane. It was about time he headed out. Harry turned on the spot and vanished into that inky darkness composed of nothingness.

Moments later Harry opened his eyes and immediately winced at the sudden daylight. It was odd going from the darkness of night to the brightness of day. Britain was just as he remembered. Perfect overcast sky, mild breeze, and open fields. Harry looked around the Scottish countryside. It was not as he remembered. He orientated himself and determined his location. Where Hogwarts should rest there was only a large clear lake and a lonely oak tree that had seen better days. It wasn't that much of a surprise that Hogwarts didn't exist here in this world. But there was still a horrifying feeling at finding the first place he ever called home gone. It was a sad sight and one he couldn't bare witness to any longer.

Harry turned around and once more vanished into that dreary darkness. Air returned to his insides and he opened his eyes. He stood on what should have been Privet Drive. Instead the land was dominated by a large multi story library. He felt a little better seeing that Privet Drive didn't crossover just the same as Hogwarts. If his old neighborhood existed in this world it would have been the greatest injustice ever. At least now he knew for sure that he was the only true remnant from the life he once knew. Footsteps and voices broke the silence of the shadowed corner he resided in. Without giving the area another glance, Harry disapparated away.

He appeared under the moonlit front lawn of his home. He hung his head and sighed. "Damn. Off my mark."

Harry looked around quickly, but no one was outside after ten o'clock at night. Not in a suburban neighborhood at least. He was lucky that he hadn't botched his apparation more than missing his destination. He could have been splinched. Living as a muggle these last few months had made him off his game. He started forward and stopped mid-stride, as the front door opened and closed so quickly that he almost missed it. A long shadow fell over the sidewalk, its caster non other than Aiden. The four year old was dressed in a pair of jeans and a gray shirt with a trio of cartoonish figures waving on the front.

Harry groaned. "You have got to be kidding me." He stepped in Aiden's path hands on hips, as he stared down at the younger boy who looked fairly surprised. "Going somewhere, little brother?"

Aiden nodded quickly and tried to walk around Harry. He rolled his eyes and snatched the little boy up into his arms. Aiden kicked his feet and wiggled in Harry's arms, making noises of protest in his throat. He squirmed out of Harry's hold and sprinted off down the sidewalk.

"What the hell," Harry swore, taking off after Aiden. He caught him by the back of the shirt stopping him in his tracks. "Whoa, hold on!"

Aiden ripped his shirt from Harry's grip. He looked up at him a childish pout on his face, and spoke for the third time of the day, "Have to go. Cant stop me."

Harry raised an eyebrow and pointed a finger at Aiden's chest. "You bet your ass I'm going to stop you. Now let's get back inside and talk about this time out I'm going to put you in for the next foreseeable future."

Aiden slowly shook his head and met Harry's eyes. And that switch he attributed to Aiden's child mood and serious personality turned on. His childlike face filled with an unnatural somberness that made Harry pause. The hairs on his arms stood up and Harry let Aiden go as static zapped at his fingertips shocking him. He knew without a shadow of a doubt that Aiden was going, and if Harry tried to stop him then something would be let loose. What? He didn't know. Honestly—he didn't want to.

"Okay, then," said Harry begrudgingly. "You want to go. Fine. But I'm coming with you. I'm not leaving you alone."

He got a patient nod and Harry shook his head as he followed the four year old down the sidewalk. Inside he was kicking himself. If his parents woke up and found them both gone then there would be hell to pay, of that he was sure. The only reason Harry hadn't forcefully hauled the little boy back to the house was only because he was obviously on to something. Aiden was no ordinary child, and Harry knew that wherever he was going it damn sure wouldn't be the toy store.

Spring Valley while being a very affluent neighborhood also housed the main campus of AU. As such the transportation system of buses and trams ran constantly from early morning till an hour before midnight, insuring that riders conveniently made it to and from campus. As they neared the end of the street a group of people were departing from a stopped bus. Aiden broke into a sudden run.

"Seriously," groaned Harry, running after the younger boy.

They slipped in through the rear doors right past two middle aged men. The driver glanced at them in the rearview mirror with a frown, but thankfully didn't say anything. It was too late at night and the end of his shift was coming up, he was more than likely too tired to put up a fuss. Just the same Harry gave him a thankful smile and the driver rolled his eyes and pulled away from the stop.

Harry eyed Aiden who was nodding along to some unheard tune. "So, you do this a lot?"

Aiden shook his head and held up one finger.

"First time?" asked Harry, his voice dripping with disbelief and sarcasm. "Really? You seem like an old pro at this."

Harry ignored the glare. He crossed his arms and stared out the window. They rushed past the residential areas that he was used to seeing as they headed further and further into downtown DC. This was definitely not a good idea. Downtown in the city by themselves, late at night, around unfamiliar territory was just asking for trouble. This was not the time to be without a wand.

Harry threw a glance at Aiden. "Don't let me be wrong about you."

A cryptic smile appeared on Aiden's stoic face. Instead of soothing him, its effect just made Harry more irritated. The bus came to a halt and Aiden jumped up and stumbled off the bus with Harry a step behind him. Harry looked around at the neon signs of bars and clubs, and laughing young people, mostly in their twenties, out enjoying the nightlife. He and Aiden stuck out like sore thumbs. Harry shook his head. This was not how he expected to spend his night. He grabbed Aiden's hand. If they had to be out here then there was no way that he was letting Aiden out of his sight.

Harry scowled at the stares they drew from passersby's. He was tempted to give the finger but what kind of example would that set to boy at this side. The boy who had jumped off a roof and snuck out of his house in the dark of night—When he thought about it like that, then the gesture was probably right up his alley. Harry looked down at the persistent tugging on his arm.

"What, Aiden?" he asked, biting back his annoyance at even being here.

Aiden had stopped in front of an alleyway and was pointing his index finger unwaveringly into its depths. Harry looked from Aiden to the alley. He peered inside and didn't see anything threatening. Was this why they came here?

"Is this why you wanted to come?" questioned Harry. "Is something in there?"

Aiden shook his head and then nodded. Harry sighed. "Okay, so something's in the alley?"

Aiden nodded.

"But it's not why we came here?"

Again he shook his head.

Why wasn't he surprised? "I'll check it out some other time. Can we get a move on? It's getting late."

If somebody a year ago told Harry that he would be following his four year old brother around America's capitol he would have thrown a hex at them. Now he wanted to hex himself. They had long past the street full of bars and now walked into a park. The basketball court was eerily empty as well as the accompanying park. A breeze picked up and Harry rubbed his arm as his flesh tingled.

"Now what, Aiden?"

His hand was suddenly empty as Aiden ran off into the thick forest that bordered the playground. _Deep magic._Was this kid suicidal? He seriously had some kind of death wish and Harry was wondering if he just got doped. He mentally slapped himself. Get it together, Potter. Go after him.

"Aiden!" He screamed after the boy as he disappeared between the trees. He pumped his legs hard and ran into the woods after him. "Get back here now, Aiden!"

Harry trudged through forest calling after Aiden. The underbrush was thick and the branches kept snapping him in the face knocking his head back. Harry growled and slapped offending branches aside, wishing with all his might for a machete. When they got home he was going to make sure Aiden got acquainted with a good old fashion fannysmackin' as Aunt Petunia always referred to it. He reasoned saying ass whooping made her uncomfortable. But what didn't?

He stopped as sounds reached his ears. Laughter, shouting, and joyous cheers rent the air. What the hell was going on? Harry creped as quietly as possible toward the noise. He parted the branches before his face and shock shot down his spine. Globes of light bobbed and zipped through the air of a large clearing each a different color. On the forest floor there were tiny figures, some a foot tall, but most were six inches or smaller. Light covered their forms in a luminous sheen. Dragonfly wings rose from their shoulders and their clothes were simple gowns or robes that were cut to show off smooth skin and small, but perfectly crafted bodies. They were beautiful creatures, and their faces were the kind artists dreamed of painting. Harry could only ogle at the creatures. _Merlin. _He was looking at faeries.

Childish giggling broke his silent stupor. His jaw dropped. Aiden danced under the flying motes of light. He picked up a stick and laughed happily as a faerie with a mop of lavender hair engaged him in a mock sword fight. Harry really slapped himself this time. It was like something from the animated movies Aiden endlessly watched. Finally Harry's mind kicked into gear. He marched into the clearing ignoring the cries and shouts of the faeries that circled around him. He grabbed Aiden by the arm.

"You dragged me here for this!" Harry demanded, frowning. "I'm through playing, Aiden. We're going home."

A streak of blue zipped in front of his vision. Harry focused on the ball of light and at its center was a very angry faerie girl with a mane of lilac hair. Green eyes narrowed at him in annoyance. Harry backed up tightening his grip on Aiden's arm.

"Who are you to interrupt our ring, mortal?" she commanded imperiously.

Harry replied as politely as he could, but probably still sounded pissed. Oh well. "I am kin to the young one. He's my charge. I mean no disrespect to you and yours, but I have to return him home."

He had to give him simelf a pat on the back for saying that with a straight face. He laid on thick, but Hagrid would have been proud. He had learned something from Care of Magical Creatures after all. The key to successfully establishing a friendly relationship with a magical species was a certain degree of respect.

Appeased, the faerie's angry expression relaxed into a neutral look. "But the boy amuses us greatly."

Harry stood a little straighter, his face going carefully blank. "I wasn't making a request."

The faerie threw up her nose. "Go. Your presence bores us now anyway."

Harry rolled his eyes refraining from snapping back a sarcastic reply. He grabbed Aiden's hand in a firm grip and departed the clearing with his brother in tow.

"Good night, young wizard," the faerie called behind him.

Harry spun around quickly, heart hammering. "You know what I am? Do you know other—"

The faeries lifted into the sky in a swarm of multicolored lights. Harry swallowed the groan of frustration. Great. His first chance at learning something, anything about the magic in this world and he just blew it. Was that why Aiden had come here? Had he gave Harry a way into receiving some of the answers to his questions? Guilt rose inside of his chest and Harry closed his eyes. He looked down at Aiden and winced at the pout and teary eyes framed on his small face. Aiden looked up at Harry and his heart throbbed at seeing his brother's crestfallen appearance. Aiden jerked his hand from Harry's and he stalked forward through the dark forest, unhindered by the brush or wayward branches.

"Way to go, Potter," muttered Harry, running his hand through his hair in an upset gesture.

He jogged to catch up to Aiden and was at his heels as they existed the forest. Thankfully there were lampposts throwing light onto sections of the park or Harry might not have seen him, moonlight or not. Harry caught up to Aiden and took his arm in a gentle grip. He bent down and met Aiden's crying face. Look up jerk in the dictionary and there would probably be an 8x8 glossy of Harry. He was probably in there under ass, too.

"I'm sorry, Aiden," said Harry quietly with regret. "I'm so sorry. I guess you were trying to help me all along."

Aiden rubbed at his face with his shirt sleeve, nodding with a sniffle. Aiden pointed at himself and fresh tears pricked at his eyes.

"I know you're sorry. As long as you know you can't run off like that again, alright?"

He nodded again and smiled weakly.

Harry stood to his feet and barely heard Aiden's cry of horror before his world exploded in pain. He hit the ground hard and his head throbbed as stars flared behind his eyelids. His skull pounded in agony as he blearily opened his eyes. Three men, muggers, his pained mind supplied. Aiden's hurt filled cry was enough to get him to his feet. He didn't care if it was three grown men against him. He had to try for Aiden.

At least part of his plan worked. The third man left Aiden alone, and joined his partners on focusing on him. Harry put his weight behind his swing and punched the nearest guy in the solar plexus. He threw a punch at the other man and his arm was caught mid swing in a solid grip. Struggling to free himself, Harry didn't see the third guy come up to his side. The blow to his already wounded head sent him crumbling. He fell to the ground hard.

A viscous kick was delivered to his ribs. He rolled away but they didn't let him go far. Soon more kicks joined in and he screamed as his ribs protested and then cracked under the onslaught. He coughed up blood and spat into one of their faces. He couldn't say who since his vision began blurring around the edges. The mugger reached down and hauled Harry by his hair, jerking his face up. The mugger reached back and punched him in the face with enough force to send blood spraying from his nose. All he saw was white. Hot white everywhere. Pain was all he knew. Its excruciating tendrils embraced Harry's body like an old friend, racing up and down his form, clouding all thought.

He fell to the ground and his head lolled on the damp grass. Aiden, his pain clouded brain whispered. He opened his eyes. The muggers laughing voices drifted to his ears and he dragged his eyes to his brother. Aiden was hunched over something in his grip, his fingers furiously working upon it with all his attention. Harry watched as one of the muggers rushed at his brother and slapped him to the ground.

His mind yelled at him. He caught sight of the object that flew from Aiden's hands. It was the item he had been working at. Harry recognized it from the clearing as the stick Aiden had used to swordfight. Some instinct took over his body. That same force that caused him to trust Aiden. The presence that kept him moving and attacking during duels surged forward like some great god of old. Harry reached for the stick and wrapped his fingers around it. _Something_ aligned within, exploding through every nerve in his body. It flooded his senses and sang to him a song that he had only dimly heard once before, when he was eleven years old and grasped his wand for the first time. It wasn't exactly the same. But it would do.

He didn't think. He just acted. Immersed within the familiar connection of power, of magic, he didn't notice if he said an actual spell, or if he just unleashed a primal cry of vengeance. It didn't matter. He gathered all the anger, hurt, fury, and willed it through the wand. The stick buckled, the recoil actually knocking him back as an invisible, but concussive blast of force rushed from the wand's tip. Its bone breaking strength caught the three men completely unaware. The blast struck them solidly and the air erupted with the sound of breaking bones and bellows of pain, even as the impact flung them back over half dozen yards away.

He crawled over to Aiden, who meet him halfway in a hug. "Aiden," Harry murmured, searching him over for any significant harm.

Aiden touched Harry's face in a soft, careful hold. "All better, Harry? You have magic wand now."

Harry looked down at the stick and noticed for the first time a long strand of hair wrapped and tied off near the wands tip. It was oddly colored. Lavender if he remembered right. The hair from a magical creature. Faerie hair.

"You are—" he trailed off as the astonishment mudded his thought process. Or it could have been the probable concussion he now had.

He didn't know what to say. He was out of words. It was too many shocks in one day. He knew what he had to do now however. He had to get them home before he passed out from the pain that now took up residence in his body. Harry shoved the wand in his pocket and picked Aiden up into his arms. The little boy snuggled into Harry's embrace and held tightly to him, as they twisted and apparated away.

* * *

I got some awesome reviews from the last chapter. Thanks guys. Harry has a wand or semi-wand, and all is finally right in the world. In the next chapter a character from the Dresdenverse will be introduced into the story.


	6. Return of the Wizard

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter either. It belongs to its creator J.K. Rowling and probably Warner Bros. too. I'm not too sure about that. This piece of literature is simply the work of a humble fan. I also credit Jim Butcher for various themes, subjects, or references that I may use.

* * *

Author Notes: This is a Harry Potter crossover with the Dresden Files the book series. All my knowledge of the Dresden Files comes from the books. I've never seen the TV series. For the timeline that will be stated later. Thanks to the folks at DLP for help with editing.

* * *

**Awaken Sleeper.  
**Chapter Five: Return of the Wizard  
by: Water Mage

Harry awoke in pain. It started at his head and traveled down his body in a flood of sudden sensations. Harry groaned and dared not to move for fear of making it worse. He was in his bed. That was a good thing. The sunlight filtering through the curtains and the chirping birds served to make his head ache a bit worse. The foggy events of last night cleared in his mind and he remembered. He had apparated back here with Aiden. After sending the younger boy off to bed, and after popping enough painkillers to sedate even Hagrid, he had promptly passed out from his injuries.

He lifted his shirt and looked down at his abdomen. His sides were dark blue almost purple. Definitely broke two ribs. His nose hadn't been broken but it was sore and hurt to breathe through it, a combination of the injury and the broken ribs. Damn. He was lucky one of the ribs hadn't pierced his lungs. His knuckles were very red, and he was damn proud of the sight. He never went down without a fight and last night he hadn't either. With a groan Harry dropped his head on the pillow. It felt good to just lie down. He could stay here all day.

He turned his head and his eyes landed on the stick balanced on the corners of the nightstand. The lavender hair wrapped around it shined in the sunlight. His heart thudded in his throat as he remembered the other events of last night. The faeries. The muggers. His use of magic. A victorious grin broke out over his face. He was back. Really back. He was wand a wielding, spell slinging wizard, and he could finally back it up. He stared at the makeshift wand, his grin fading away as he began to think realistically. He couldn't practically use it long term in its present condition. There goes the idea of healing himself. Without the core cased within the wand to power it, it wouldn't be reliable, and would ultimately become unstable. The potential explosion that would take place would probably liquefy him. He was reaching with the liquefying. But it would be close. Too close.

Harry carefully got out of bed wincing with every movement. He clenched his hands into fists and gritted his teeth. Focus. He just had to push the pain to the back of his mind. He had been hurt worse than this. Way worse. This was nothing. Nothing. The pain didn't matter. He stood up and swallowed back the pained sound in his throat. He just had to keep telling himself that, and maybe eventually he would believe it.

He caught sight of a note stuck to the back of the bedroom door. Harry shakily walked over and grabbed it, reading the small slanted script quickly. It was from his mother. She had a doctor's appointment, and then afterward she had errands to run. She took Aiden with her and they would return in the evening. He chuckled at the little heart she drew next to Mum at the bottom. Harry sat the note down. He was glad that he was a late sleeper otherwise she would have seen him in this state, and then he would have had to explain. He didn't even know where to start off his lie on that one.

James was at work, so that meant Harry was alone. Perfect. There were things he needed to do.

He glanced at the mirror that hung on the closet. His hair looked rumpled, he had a large bruise on the right side of face, and dried blood was caked on his left cheek. He looked like he got stomped on by a couple of Grawp's play friends. Lovely. Harry made his way to the bathroom, and after popping some more painkillers he got into the shower. The warm water that touched his skin soothed his aches and pains. He cleaned off the blood on his face, and washed the dirt that clung to his hair.

He spent awhile in the shower enjoying the comfort of the warm spray. Once he was finished he donned a pair of jeans and a dark blue shirt. His damp hair stuck to his forehead and he still looked terrible with his beat up appearance, but at least he didn't look like he lost the fight too badly anymore. Harry picked up the crude _wand_ and turned on the spot apparating away. His body felt like it was being squeezed through a tube of darkness that lasted for two heartbeats. When his eyes opened he was standing next to a dumpster in the shadowed part of a tall building.

Harry looked around. Downtown DC looked a bit different in the light of day, but he was definitely in the right area. He spotted the familiar bars and shops from last night in the distance. He stepped out from his spot behind the dumpster and joined the flow of people walking the sidewalks. No one spared him a glance. Not that he expected any. The Boy Who Lived didn't exist here. He kept his wand in hand and debated putting it in his pocket, but with its instability he didn't want to take the chance.

Bingo. He finally spotted the shop. He had passed it last night and was glad that he had been paying attention to his surroundings to remember it. Harry glanced at the sign above the shop proclaiming it Woodcrafters. The slogan under it made him chuckle, _Helping You with All Your Wood Working Needs._ He was not thinking any inappropriate thoughts because of it. None at all. Well, maybe a few—dozen.

It was no Ollivander's, but it would have to do. He could stabilize the magic if it was actually a proper wand. But there was no way he could craft this stick into such an item. Who better at such a task other than creepy old men with odd silver eyes? If he still home he would have spouted off a few names. But he was desperate and it showed in his brief hesitation before he grasped the door's handle. Ollivander would shudder if he ever thought of a muggle making a wand. But these were desperate times. He entered the shop and was assaulted by bright fluorescent lighting and the vague smell of sawdust. Tools hung on the walls, and there were a dozen aisles of shelves filled with devices he had no clue as to their purpose.

Harry was spotted by an elderly man wearing a green smock. The older man put on a friendly smile and sauntered over. Customer service at its best. The man had graying black hair and serious brown eyes behind a thick pair of glasses.

"Good afternoon, young man," said the man, beaming. "Can I help you find anything?"

"Yes," Harry read the name tag on the smock. "Joseph. I need something worked on. Can you guys do that?"

Joseph shrugged. "It depends on what you need. What are you trying to get done?"

He whipped the wand out and held it up probably a little too close to Joseph's face, because the older man backed up a step. Hmm…maybe he was just a little overeager at brandishing a wand again.

"Sorry," muttered Harry sheepishly.

"I guess you need something done on this stick?" asked Joseph, waving aside his apology. "Are you trying to make a baton or something?"

"I need for the hair wrapped around it to be inside the stick. Don't completely hollow it out though," Harry explained quickly, watching as the man's eyebrows rose higher with every word. "It needs to be balanced. I would like for it to be sturdy too. If you could maybe add a handle around the bottom that would be brilliant."

Joseph took the offered wand and stared at Harry. "That's quite an order. What's this for anyway? Is this some type of school project or something?"

Harry ran with the question. Better than the truth. "Yeah. It's for my uh…Art class." A sudden thought struck him as he remembered a tidbit about faeries from primary school reading. Faeries and iron did not mix. At all. It was their greatest weakness. "When you do work on it could you not use any iron tools…"

Joseph let out a long whistle, as he trailed his eyes over the stick. "Some art project, young man. We can do it. Shouldn't be too tricky. Matter of fact I can put it on the list, and it should be done by five at the latest."

Harry's eyebrows were the ones rising this time. "Oh! Really? I wasn't sure, and even then I was thinking it would take longer."

"It's a weekday and we're not so busy," said Joseph shrugging. "I can have your total when it's ready later. What's your name?"

"Harry Potter. And thanks. I'll be back at five."

He walked out of the shop surprised, relieved, and excited. If there was one thing muggles had down and that was efficiency. The pain in his ribs was only a dull ache in his mind, second to the thought that in just a few hours he would have a real wand. The painkillers helped with it too he was sure. The first thing he would do when he got his wand was perform some much needed healing spells.

The sooner the better.

He really hoped that they kept to their word and didn't craft the wand with iron. Who is to say what kind of effect iron involved in crafting the wand would cause? It could contaminate the wood or even make the core weaker. He didn't know. It was only speculation, but playing on the side of caution never hurt. He had learned that much from Hermione at least.

* * *

Harry glanced at the clock on the wall near the bathroom door as he downed a couple of more painkillers. He had about three hours till five. The house had the eerie quiet that came when it was empty. Harry reached under his bed. Where was it? His hands closed over a familiar object lodged in the bottom boards under the box spring. He pulled out a thick book with a black hardcover.

When he had first come here Harry had planned much in his head. It eventually became too much. The more he built the more he would forget. Finally he had swiped a blank book from his Dad's study and made it his own. It was filled with plans, speculations, and spells. Dark spells, light spells, harmless spells, and spells too dangerous to even say out loud for fear of an Azkaban sentence. Fear that didn't translate to this new world without Azkaban. It wasn't a Pensieve and was damning if it ended up in the wrong hands, but he needed it. This may be his home now, but he would always remember where he came from. He needed to remember. His memories may become less sharp over time, but the written word wouldn't suffer the same fate.

Harry flipped through the pages till he got to a blank portion. He jotted down all he knew about wand cores, and the good qualities of wood when used for magic. He wondered if they could tell what type of wood his new wand was made of. He knew magical qualities but how to differentiate between types was lost to him. From what he knew of faeries they were a temperamental species. There weren't many wand cores made with faerie hair, since those wands tended to more volatile. His curses would most likely be enhanced, and maybe some of his charms as well depending on their nature, but his holly and phoenix wand had been perfect for spells defending against the dark arts.

A knock sounded at his bedroom door. "Harry?"

Harry's eyes widened at the sound of father's voice behind the closed door. "Uh… Yeah, Dad?"

"Can I come in? I need to talk to you."

Harry cursed under his breath and turned into a tornado of movement. He slung the book back in its hiding place and made sure everything was in its place before he unlocked the door. James eased open the door and did a quick cursory glance around the room.

"What's up?" asked Harry, stepping back from the door.

James opened his mouth to reply, but stopped in surprise once he got a good look at Harry. "Bloody hell, Harry! What happened to you?" He grabbed Harry's chin and tilted his face up, cursing under his breath at the bruising and scrapes. "Who did this?"

"I was at the park," said Harry, mentally piecing together a plausible lie. "I got mugged. I guess you could say, I didn't go down without a fight." It was the truth, just without the more esoteric happenings of the night. "I'm not hurt too badly. Plus I heal quick."

He refrained from mentioning the broken ribs. They would be healed later so there was no cause to bring them up and worry the man further.

James eyes turned dark with barely restrained fury. Harry had never seen his father mad before. The cold anger in his eyes threw him off for a moment. "Why didn't you say anything, Harrison? Whoever hurt you needs to pay! We need to call the police and report this."

Harry snorted at the idea. "Dad it happened last night. What are they going to do? Travel in time and catch the guys. It was too dark out and I could barely make out their faces anyway."

"I don't understand how you're so calm about this, and why did you even hide this from us?" James demanded, staring at him hard with a touch of puzzlement.

Because he already got his vengeance last night. Not like he could admit it however. "I put up a good fight. I'm lucky they didn't kill me. Maybe I see the bigger picture."

James frowned for a long moment and then finally released a sigh. "How good of a fight?"

"I landed a few good hits," replied Harry. "A few have bruises to match mine."

James squeezed Harry's shoulders, trying and failing to hide the proud smile. "That's my boy."

He couldn't help it. He beamed at the praise. "Thanks, Dad."

"Your mum is going to have a fit when she sees you," stated James, smile visibly wilting at the edges.

He nodded, cursing inside. Looks like he couldn't heal his face now or he would raise suspicion. His mother was going to have a coronary when she saw him. She was a force to be reckoned with, and he came to the conclusion that Mrs. Weasley had nothing on Lily Potter.

"I know. Is there something you wanted though?"

James' eyes brightened as he remembered, and then they visibly dimmed, as he shook his head. "Don't worry about it. I'll talk to you about it later. Go on up to your room and get some rest."

Harry frowned at the abrupt mood change in his father. "Are you sure?"

"I'm positive. Don't worry about it, Harrison. I'll wake you whenever dinner's ready," said James. He rolled his eyes at Harry's doubtful look. "Yes, I'm ordering takeout. No need to invade your mum's domain."

"Thanks for sparing me your cooking attempts," said Harry solemnly. "You're a good man."

The older man chuckled. "You mustn't be too hurt if you're making jokes, wise guy."

Harry shooed his father from the room and closed the door behind him. Yawning, he had to admit that he was tired. His body was trying to heal itself and the painkillers were inducing drowsiness, and taxing most of his energy. He hadn't even noticed till his father mentioned it. His midsection ached with a constant dull throb, but it didn't prevent him from setting his alarm to wake him at five. He would have a wand by the end of the day, pain or no pain.

* * *

All he dreamed of was blackness. Endless comforting dark embraced him and lulled him into rest. He didn't know how long he was under until the blackness of sleep was disrupted. Voices jarred him from his blissful slumber.

"—James. I said no! I don't agree. It's too much!"

"I say it is. Its tradition and you know that as—"

"You will not pull rank on me, James Potter!"

The voices drifted in and out as he struggled against the grip of sleep. He pushed back the fog of tiredness and blearily opened his eyes. He caught sight of his parents standing at his bedside.

"Hey, you're awake," said Lily smiling. She sat at the bed's edge and ran a hand through Harry's hair. "How are you feeling, Harrison?"

Harry bit back and a yawn and tiredly rubbed at his eyes. "I feel fine. Just a bit sleepy. Were you and Dad fighting?"

"You must have been still dreaming, honey," replied Lily, confused. "Your dad's in his study."

"What?"

Harry sat up in bed. She was right. They were alone in the room. There was no sign of James anywhere. This was odd. He could have sworn that he had heard his father's voice and seen him. Why would he even imagine his parents arguing? Lily gazed at him worriedly.

"Are you sure you're feeling okay?"

Harry mustered up a smile, still feeling a little unsure. "I'm fine, I swear. Guess I was still dreaming a bit."

Lily pursed her lips together as she tilted his head up to the light. "At least the cuts don't look infected," she muttered. She smacked his arm and commanded, "Now why didn't you say anything about your mugging!"

Harry met her steely green eyes with an identical glare. "I already told Dad why, Mum. No need to chat about it again."

"Harrison Potter, you don't take that tone with me!" she ordered drawing herself up, frowning severely.

Harry exhaled noisily. "Sorry mum, but come on. It's old news now. Let it go. I'm fine, your fine, the world is still spinning. Let's call it a case closed. Great work, detective."

Lily ran a frustrated hand through her long hair and stood quickly. "Stop being silly, Harrison! This is serious. When stuff like this happens you need to come to us. We're you're parents! We signed up for this job you know."

Her voice wasn't demeaning or belittling, but it still grated on his nerves. Harry wasn't a fan of being coddled like a child. He could take it in small doses, but his mother was laying it on thick. Mother or not, she was getting on his nerves with the fussing.

"I'm twenty, Mum," snapped Harry, tired and fed up. "I'm not some fifteen year old kid anymore. I'm your son but I'm also a man now, and you can't coddle me anymore. If I don't want to tell you something, I'm sorry but that's my choice. If you have a problem with that, then that's on you."

Her jaw clenched tightly and she looked at him for a long time. Only her eyes reflected the hurt she felt. Harry was torn. On one hand he was sorry for hurting her feelings, but on the other it was something that had to be said. He wasn't going to apologize. It was said in anger, but it was nothing but the truth. His parents still treated him like he was a kid. Harry had gone his entire life without them, and while he was glad to have parental support in his life now, he didn't need them on his case about his life and what he did with it.

Lily sighed softly, and walked to the door. "I'll put your dinner in the microwave if you want to come down later and eat."

She left without looking back. Harry let out all the breath he didn't realize he was holding. All his left over anger and irritation was released with the sigh. Sweet Avalon. At least he knew now where he got his over active temper from. It sure wasn't from dear old dad.

"That could have gone worse," Harry mused.

He glanced at the clock and groaned. It was now nine o'clock. He had missed his five o'clock deadline to pick up his wand by four hours. The store was sure enough closed by now. What happened to the fucking alarm anyway? He picked up the clock and swore. He had definitely set it for a time, but he forgot to turn the actual alarm feature on. Damn. Was this a good time to bang his head against the wall? Maybe. He still wasn't that savvy at all the little quirks of muggle technology, obviously.

He threw the clock on the floor and his ribs howled at the sudden movement. He groaned and clutched his side. He needed his wand. Now. There was no way he could go on like this. He needed a healing spell, like yesterday. Harry stood up carefully minding his side. He was going to get his wand. Never mind the shop being closed.

Harry donned a dark jacket and a black cap. It was after all the usual color preference for this activity. "Nothing like a good old fashion breaking and entering," he said to himself.

He locked his door so his parents wouldn't find him gone and worry needlessly. After tonight's confrontation it seemed they tended to do that best. He rolled his eyes. Enough with that. He cleared his thoughts, turned on the spot and apparated.

He found himself inside the familiar entranceway of Woodcrafters. It was dark and the only light came from glowing neon signs that poured in through the huge store windows with their drawn security gates. Harry looked around and spotted only one camera. It was angled at the door about a yard from where he stood. Lucky break. He was surprised they even had that one camera. Honestly, who would rob a wood store? Anyone except himself of course. Let's see. His wand would most likely be in a workshop, probably located in the rear of the shop.

He stuck to the shadows, strongly reminded of his Stealth and Tracking aptitude tests he was put through in training. He wouldn't say no a catchy spy show theme right about now. Harry came upon a swinging door located to the side of a sales register counter. Let's see what was behind door number one. He eased it open and smiled at the sight. Wicked. The workshop floor was covered in a wood chippings and sawdust. Work stations were arrayed around the room with machines that looked like they had seen tons of usage. He had come to the right place. Now if he was someone who worked here where would he put a finished product? Harry took note of the carefully marked cabinets and shelves aligned against the walls. The room's muted lighting made it much easier for him to search.

It didn't even take him long to find it. The wand lied on top of a beautifully crafted toy row boat that sat amongst other nick knacks and finished toys. The wand was about eleven inches long and dark brown with an ever darker handle. It was perfect and easily the most awe inspiring sight he had seen in months. It wasn't just a wand. He was looking at a piece of home. Harry admired the wand for a long while before slowly reaching his hand toward it. His hand wrapped around the handle.

"Just give it a wave," he said softly, licking his dry lips, flashing back to that day at Ollivander's nine years ago.

Here goes nothing, he thought. Heart beating heavily in his chest, he held his breath. He flicked his wrist and cut the wand through the air. Immediately motes of pale blue and warm gold light burst from the wand. Emotions so high and overwhelming exploded inside his chest, as he watched the tiny globes of light drift through the air only to land on the ground dissipating as they touched. There was a different _sense_ to the wand, but he would take anything at this point.

Harry smiled so hard that his cheeks hurt. "And now for my next trick folks," he announced holding his arms out dramatically. He touched the wand to his midsection and muttered, "_Episkey__._"

His ribs went very hot at once and then just as suddenly went very cold, as if his insides had been dipped in ice cold water. He let out a gasping breath as his ribs repaired themselves with a speed that made his knees buckle.

He prodded his sides. "Not too bad at all."

He was good as new. He could do with a healing spell to his face, but his parents had ruined that little option. That wasn't going to bring him down. He was feeling too good right now. It was like a missing piece of himself had returned to him. He was beyond happy. He was damn near giddy. This called for a celebration. Hell, he needed a drink.

He threw down a few bills on the counter for the wand and apparated from the workshop. His body was squeezed through a tight tube of uncharitable space and before the odd sensation could become uncomfortable, it was over and he reappeared in a new location. Harry opened his eyes. He stood at the end of a moderately crowded street.

"_Jesus Christ!_" gasped a man in worn and ragged clothes, his breath smelling strongly of alcohol. He dropped his bottle of wine and it shattered against the ground, even as he gaped at the sight of Harry. "How-how did you do that?"

Harry winked at the homeless man. "Teleporter. God bless those Japanese. What will they think of next?"

"Are you the devil?" whispered the drunk, wide eyed and full of fear.

Harry rolled his eyes and muttered sourly, "I'll never get tired of hearing that one."

He strolled off ignoring the drunkard calling after him. It was thirty minutes past ten and the streets were lined with open bars. Men stood outside checking for ID and Harry could have kicked himself. The American legal drinking age was twenty one, not eighteen like he was used to. Bloody Colonials. And right when he was looking forward to tossing back a good shot of whiskey.

Harry met the eye of a doorman and the guy gave him a suspicious glare. He didn't see himself charming his way into any of these bars. This officially put a damper on his night cap. Harry looked across the street at a fighting couple who were in the throws of a heated argument. He chuckled as the woman slapped the man across the face. Ouch. What a wicked backhand on that one.

"Good luck, buddy," Harry called out, as the girl stormed off.

His gaze slid away from the couple to a flickering neon sign that caught his eye. He cocked his head at the sight of an alley right next to the sign, a little a ways from the more busy parts of the street. He recognized that alley. Harry matched up the buildings with the ones from last night. It was the same one that Aiden had pointed out to him last night. The same alley which held something that garnered enough of his attention to alert Harry, but hindered him from further checking out.

Guess the time to check it out comes now. Aiden had been pretty adamant about something being inside, and frankly Harry was curious. He held his wand steady and cautiously entered the alley.

"_Lumos_," he said softly.

His wand lit up like a strobe light at his command. Even the incantation of the simple spell sent a thrill of triumph through him. It felt damn good to be able to do wand magic again. It had been far too long. Light appeared ahead and Harry ended the light spell with a whispered word. The light shined upon a large space in front of a side door of a bricked building. Harry raised an eyebrow at the sign above the door that read Griffin's. If he was at Hogwarts or even in the wizarding world, he would have thought the place was owned by a Gryffindor alumni going by the sign. His curiosity was way beyond piqued. He was in full blown sleuthing mode now.

"Oh, I have got to see this," he said entering the door.

He was immediately hit by the heavy smell of smoke and the rising and falling volume of room chatter. He walked through a short hallway and into a roomy bar. A barely audible jazz tune filled the room originating from an old player piano. Everything was slightly tilted, from the pillars around the room, to the tables that people sat at. Even the bar top seemed not completely level. Harry closed his eyes and took a breath. Magic. It rolled off the assembled people and defused itself before it could build up into heavy levels. He could feel it in the background humming against the back of his neck, like a soft breeze that refused to die down. It was kind of tingly. Deep magic. These weren't muggles. These people were just as magical as he. And he could actually _feel_ it. Their clear and fading power crawled along his skin.

Harry absently took a seat at the bar too stunned to even stand. He was floored. It was just like him to stumble upon a bar full of magical people. But it hadn't been by chance had it?

"I haven't seen you here before? You a practitioner, apprentice, or wizard?"

Harry stared blankly at the woman behind the bar. She was tall. Easily topping six feet and built like an Amazon. Her hair was dark purple and styled in a pixie cut, sky blue eyes watched Harry with open curiosity and amusement. She was in her mid to late thirties and looked like she would have no problem bench pressing him if she felt up to it.

Finally his mind caught up to the question. "Wizard."

"Ah—Must be fresh out of apprenticeship. I haven't been to a meeting in ages. Seems like they get younger and younger in the White Council."

Harry blinked, but plastered on a smile. He was more than confused. Try two streets past lost. "I guess they do."

The woman lit up hearing his accent. "The name's Sam. You from across the pond? I'm from Ireland."

"Really? You don't even have an accent."

Sam slung a towel over her shoulder and smirked playfully. "You know why the sun never set on the British Empire, lad," she said, her voice morphing into a sweet Irish brogue. "It's cause God didn't trust the Brits in the dark."

Harry groaned, dropping his face in his hand. "You're a bloody Irishwoman alright. I should have known by all the alcohol, but the bad joke was the final nail in the coffin."

"Dry wit and grand observational skills... You're definitely English," she quipped right back.

Harry wiggled his eyebrows. "So what's a bloke got to do for a crown and coke?"

She held out her hand. "Show me some ID. We're not in the Mother-Country. I would personally like to keep my liquor license. It's great for business."

Harry shrugged, smiling sheepishly. "It was worth a try. My name is Harry by the way."

"So what are you doing here all the way from home?" she asked, wiping down the counter.

"Family," he replied. It was mostly true. He just left out the more exotic pieces of the story.

Sam nodded. "Same here. My uncle passed when I was barely out of my teens. I came over here to take the place over. Been here ever since. It would have broken his heart if the place closed down. It was real special to him."

"You get a lot of wizards in here?" he asked, putting just enough curiosity in his voice to seem like casual interest.

He didn't want to seem like he was fishing for information. People who were too nosy tended to get the cold shoulder. It was fact. Harry was not looking forward to being labeled persona non grata so soon after finding this goldmine. He had finally found a source of information. What were the words she kept throwing out? What was the White Council?

"A few," she replied starring out across the bar. "A lot more practitioners though…" she trailed off, spotting something that made her frown. "Stars and sky. What is with him tonight?"

Harry followed her gaze across the bar and frowned himself. There was an older man, close to thirty, harassing a young woman who was sitting alone at a table near the back. The woman was clearly not interested in his persistent advances and it showed. Her body language practically screamed back the fuck back. It would have been funny if the guy would have eventually taken the hint, but he clearly wasn't taking no for an answer.

"Damn, Peter," murmured Sam. "I better go and get him."

Harry stood up and held up a hand for her to stop. He smiled crookedly. "I got it."

Sam's dark eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Look Harry, I like you but that guy would crush you if you go over there all white knight."

Harry's lips twitched at the line. "I've been told I have a saving people thing. It's what I do."

He straightened his back and strode across the room in long quick steps. Harry came upon the quarrelling pair and they stopped as he stared at them with his squared shoulders and stoic expression.

"I think the lady wants to be left alone," said Harry coldly.

The man, Peter if he remembered right, looked him up and down. "You might want to go home, kid. This doesn't concern you."

Harry's eye twitched at the kid remark. "Because of the kid comment it just became my problem. Go ahead and take a hint and leave."

The guy stepped forward and his arm lashed out without warning. Harry dodged the punch thankful that the alcohol had made the guy uncoordinated. His attacker had over a hundred pounds on him. Harry was quick but the guy had way more strength. He over reached and Harry took advantage of the opening. He put as much force as he could into delivering a punch into the guys gut. Peter wheezed desperately as all the air left his lungs. He recovered faster than Harry expected, and looked at him with pure rage. Harry readied his wand. The man lunged but arms quickly reached out and grabbed him in an unyielding hold.

"Easy there, Peter," said Sam, holding him in a strong grip.

Her tall, athletic form towered over his barely six foot body. He had slabs of muscle on him, but Sam was no lightweight herself and she obviously worked out, and used her own muscles to her advantage. She hauled his flailing form away as if he was a misbehaving child.

"I'm not through talking with him, Sam!" he yelled.

"Yeah you are, Peter, here's your bag. Now go home," she ordered, shoving him out the door.

The bar customers broke into applause as she walked back in looking beyond irritated. She grinned at the cheers and did a bow before she disappeared through a door behind the bar. Harry shook his head smiling. That was one hardcore woman.

Harry took a seat at the table. The girl was a young woman maybe a year or two older than him. Her hair was very light brown, a color that was caught between gold and brown, almost dark blond but too dark to pass. Her eyes were gray like the color of storm clouds. And right now those stormy gray eyes were predicting a hurricane. Oh boy. The older woman looked at him, and if looks could kill she would have melted him on the spot.

"Uh…Hello," greeted Harry, offering up his best charming smile.

The woman didn't smile. She glared even harder if that was possible. "I didn't need your help. I could have handled him."

"I'm sure you could have," replied Harry placating her. "I just wanted to help."

"If this is you trying to pick me up," began the woman, rolling her eyes. "You're wasting your time."

Oh. She was a first class bitch. Well if she wanted to play the rude game. "You're not my type. I prefer blondes."

"And I like my men older."

Harry snorted. "Oh please. You're probably barely twenty two. You don't have that much of a leg up on me. And just for the record. I'm not flirting. I'm just making conversation. I know you don't get much of that."

The woman's eyes narrowed. "_Was_ making conversation. I'm out of here."

She slung her purse over her shoulder and stormed out, long legs giving her strides that much more length. Wow. Were all the women in this country so tall? He eyed the book she left on the table and picked it up. It was a book of poetry with a French title. If he ran he could probably catch up to her. It would serve as a good peace offering. He sprinted out of the bar turning heads as he passed. Harry stepped into the quiet alley and looked left and right for any sign of her. Sweet Avalon. That was girl was fast. She was nowhere in sight. Harry stepped off the porch.

"I knew you would come out sooner or later."

Harry spun to his right immediately crouching into a defensive position. Peter stepped into the light above the bar's door, and Harry sighed at his eager and still angry face.

"Look I don't have a problem with you," declared Harry, holding up his hands. "I don't want to fight either. I just got in one yesterday and you don't want my parents thinking I'm some type of gangbanger do you?"

Peter took off his satchel and threw it on the ground, not taking his eyes off Harry. "All I know is I owe you one, punk."

"Punk?" Harry laughed, slowly drawing his wand. "Are you serious?"

The man saw red and rushed Harry with a primal cry full of rage. He was pretty quick for somebody full of alcohol. Harry dove to the ground and managed to roll away. He jumped to his feet and whipped out his wand in one stroke. He was in no mood for fisticuffs as Uncle Vernon always termed it.

He jerked his wand in a precise flick and yelled, "_Stupefy!__" _

The torrent of red light blasted from his wand. Peter dodged the stunner as if he had been doing it all his life. Harry upped his estimation of Peter. This guy knew a thing about dueling. The man stared at Harry with renewed anger.

"You dare use magic against me, boy!" He brought his arm up in a blur of movement and growled in harsh German,_ "Aufwinde!"_

Wind rose in a sudden rush that filled the alley with a terrible howl. A cyclone made up of magically summoned wind erupted into being and raced toward him. He caught the beginnings of the windstorm, letting the wind rustle against his clothes before he smirked at Peter, and turned on the spot apparating behind the flabbergasted man. The brunt of the windstorm continued on tearing through the spot he just dispapparated from.

Bastard wanted to play with wind did he? Harry grabbed his wand with both hands and shouted, "_Sphaera__ Vento!"_

His wand erupted like a shotgun and the recoil was equally similar, as a globe of compacted wind struck the older man in the chest just as he spun around at hearing the start of the spell. The wind sphere smashed him into the alley's wall and he fell heavily to the ground.

Peter was more resilient than he looked. That would have deterred most men from trying anything else. Unexpectedly the bleeding man dove for his satchel and retrieved a wooden object from it, aiming it directly at Harry_._

_ "Bedienstetblitz!"_

The air grew thick and Harry jumped out the way as lightning appeared from up above, slamming into the ground where he once stood. The smell of burnt ozone was heavy and filled the air. Harry felt a sudden pain on his shoulder. His shirt was torn exposing mildly burned skin. He must have got hit by a stray current of lightning.

Harry ran a hand over his bleeding wound and glared at Peter. "Lightning? Those are dark spells where I come from."

"Shut up and fight like a wizard, boy!" snapped Peter. _"Bedienstetblitz!"_

"_Protego__!"_ shouted Harry at the same time. A translucent blue shield sprung up, and the arcs of lightning washed against the surface like water splashing against a rock. Harry snapped his arm and cried, _"Humusfractum!" _

There was a loud crack that echoed in the air and the ground exploded right beneath Peter. He screamed as his body was flung backward in the force of the destruction. He landed on his back heavily over four yards away. Moaning he shakily got to his feet, clutching his side and looking worse for wear with his bleeding gashes adorning his face and arms.

Harry held his wand lazily at his side. "Alright Peter how about we just call it a draw. We both know I won, but you can tell all your friends you kicked my ass if it makes you feel better."

Peter cursed in a long string of German and raised that thick wooden object in his hand at Harry. He rolled his eyes and brought up his wand. Poor guy. He put a decent fight. Let's see him dodge this next spell.

Out of the blue Harry heard an unmistakable voice, and the alley lit up with white light. He shielded his eyes and when he opened them Peter lay on the alley floor unconscious with distinctly singed clothing. Harry stared the towering woman standing above Peter's knocked out form. It was the brown haired woman from earlier.

She tugged at a glimmering, smoking slave ring made of ivory on her finger. It was in the shape of a ring of oak leaves and attached to a silver chain that led to a similarly styled bracelet. She picked up the forgotten book of poetry on the ground from where it had fallen earlier.

"Don't get too excited," she warned, watching as Harry got to his feet. "I just came back for my book and you looked like you could use a hand."

Harry shook his head irritated. "You are rarely nice I take it. And if you had been paying attention I had it. I didn't need your help."

She smiled a tiny smile, and said in a familiar placating tone. "I'm sure you could have."

Touché. He liked her style. Harry stuck out his hand. "Well my name's Harry."

She didn't offer her hand. Her tiny smile grew till it was full grown as she shook her head, amused by some secret joke only she knew.

"You better get out of here. He won't be happy when he wakes up."

She turned around and walked back in the direction she came in. Harry looked at the guy. He almost felt bad for leaving him on the alley floor, but the psycho deserved it. He wouldn't be too unfortunate. At least his head landed on his satchel, and it made for a decent makeshift pillow. Harry eyed the bag and looked closer to inspect the gray cloth spilling from its inside contents. Was that a cloak? The footsteps grew distant and Harry pulled away from his inspecting.

"Hey!" he called out to the woman's retreating form. "What's your name anyway?"

She turned around enough just so he caught the hint of a tiny smile playing on her face. "Elaine."

And as if it was some secret code word she vanished as if she was never there.

* * *

Finally, the crossover has begun. All the Dresden Files settings and characters will be explained and woven into the story in a way that people who haven't read the series will understand what's going on. Thanks everyone who reviewed last chapter.


	7. Born Under a Bad Sign

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter either. It belongs to its creator J.K. Rowling and probably Warner Bros. too. I'm not too sure about that. This piece of literature is simply the work of a humble fan. I also credit Jim Butcher for various themes, subjects, or references that I may use.

* * *

Author Notes: This is a Harry Potter crossover with the Dresden Files the book series. All my knowledge of the Dresden Files comes from the books. I've never seen the TV series. For the timeline that will be stated later. Thanks to the folks at DLP for help with editing.

* * *

**Awaken Sleeper.  
**Chapter Six: Born Under a Bad Sign  
by: Water Mage

Harry awakened more tired than he could ever remember. His eyes remained half lidded with sleep, and his body protested against any and all movement. Why was he even so tired? The answer came to him in a moment of perfect clarity as he squinted at the morning sun filtering in through the curtains of his bedroom window. He had spent all night at Griffin's again till close. It was the third night in a row. Still no sight of the mysterious Elaine. While he did have a few questions for the woman, Harry hadn't come away from his outings empty handed. In a bar people talked. They talked to pass the time, to meet people, or to listen to the sound of their own voice. They talked when they were sober, and talked even more when drunk.

He learned that Elaine was a semi regular at the bar. She sat alone in a corner and usually passed the time by reading. He had got that from Sam who he learned knew every customer who came in like he knew Quidditch maneuvers. He had developed a respect for the woman who hailed from the UK just the same as he. Her brazen attitude and endless bad jokes amused him to no end. He hadn't come away with just information on Elaine.

Time and time again mention was made to the White Council. From what he gathered Sam was a member and Harry was too, as far as she knew. They were a governing body of wizards, and that was all he knew. People didn't bring up the White Council often, or for no reason. The governing body was spoken of by customers with mixed emotions. The snatches of conversations held tones of fear, respect, and sometimes anger. Harry kept his ears open and originally figured maybe the White Council were as incompetent as the Ministry of Magic before its rebirth after falling to Voldemort. It was the opposite. The White Council apparently was good at their job. Perhaps too good at times. He didn't have enough information to form a more solid picture, but he had to get people used to seeing his face before he started asking questions that may raise brows.

Without warning the bedroom door banged open. He didn't think. Instincts kicked in and he acted. Harry rolled from his bed and landed on the balls of his feet, crouched low in a fighting stance. Lily and James appeared in the doorway smiling like loons. Their grins slipped a bit, and they eyed Harry weirdly, who quickly dropped his stance.

"Er… good morning," he smiled awkwardly.

James turned to Lily. "I told you we shouldn't barge in. '_James it's too early for him to be doing that'_," he mocked in a high pitched voice, waving his arm around wildly. "He's a healthy boy, Lily. It's never too early for him."

Lily's right eye twitched as James concluded his over the top impersonation. "You're begging for a good smack across the face."

James grinned roguishly. "I'll just reply with harder, and we both know where that will lead."

"To intense counseling," Lily deadpanned.

Harry let out a noise that was between a choke and squeak. "Mortified son here, folks," he announced weakly with wide, disbelieving eyes.

James had the grace to look abashed. "Sorry about that, son. Didn't mean to barge in and whatnot. If you were doing that thing that all guys do, I have to say—"

Lily jabbed him in the rib with an elbow, and smiled warmly at Harry. "Happy Birthday, Harrison."

Harry raised both eyebrows, surprised. "Er… Are you sure?"

James snorted. "It's July 31. Don't tell me you forgot your birthday. Your twenty first birthday at that. You're legal in the states now, kid."

Was it really his birthday? Harry glanced at the calendar tacked to the wall. They were right. It was his birthday. How had the days run together on him? A slow grin spread across his face as the full implication hit him.

"I can finally get a drink around here," he blurted out happily.

James saluted him. "That's the spirit."

Lily wrapped Harry in a hug. "My baby boy all grown up."

Harry looked down at her from his extra half foot of height and grinned. "I think that happened a while ago, Mum."

She let him go and clapped her hands, beaming excitedly. "Tonight we're going to have dinner as a family. I'm going all out. Cake, your favorite foods, the works!"

He stared at her feeling so overwhelmed that it took almost three tries before he could speak. "You really don't have to…"

James clapped him on the shoulder, his face open showing nothing but seriousness. "We haven't celebrated a birthday with you since you were fifteen. You bet we have to do this. Twenty one is a special birthday in our family."

Harry felt warmth settle down in his gut and he smiled brightly. "Then I can't argue with that."

"What do you want for breakfast, honey?" asked Lily, leading him from the room.

Harry blinked. "Pancakes would be nice I guess."

"Pancakes for the birthday boy coming right up," announced Lily with far too much cheer.

Harry slowly distanced himself from her a bit. She was all, bouncy.

James leaned in and whispered in his ear, "She's a bit over the moon that we get to finally celebrate your birthday with you again. This day's usually hard for us every year, and now with you back well…" he trailed off, shrugging awkwardly. "It's like a miracle."

Or magic. He refrained from opening that can of words. Instead he settled for a nod and replied, "I don't mind. It's nice."

James ruffled his hair and Harry swatted at the hand. His mother worked her magic as she buzzed around the kitchen, mixing batter, flipping pancakes, and carrying on a conversation all at once. Harry had some skills at cooking thanks to the Dursley's, but he didn't have the ease of cooking like his mother showed. She was like a professional chief, and he was more like Chief Boyardee. Sad but true.

Aiden pattered into the room, wearing pajama pants and a snug red shirt just as Lily finished her first batch of pancakes. With his mused reddish brown hair and wide bright hazel eyes, Harry thought Aiden resembled one of those characters from the Japanese cartoons he was always observed in.

James pulled out a chair for his youngest. "You get your cartoon fix for the morning?"

Aiden nodded happily and delved into the short stack of pancakes Lily placed in front of him. Harry stared at the child. Watching Aiden eat was as always a sight. Where some kids picked at their food, or ate a small portion and called it a day, Aiden devoured food as if it was his last meal. He was just always hungry. His metabolism had to be working overtime with the amount of hours it logged, breaking down all the processed food into energy.

Harry stared at the boy with a touch of awe. "It's always an experience watching him eat."

James laughed. "He eats like a bloody horse. The boy will be something else when he hits the teen years."

Lily pecked a kiss on the side of Aiden's head, and took a seat at the table. "He can't help it if he knows good cooking when he sees it."

Harry snorted. It was like watching a velociraptor devour its first prey in over a week. Finally his fork clattered to the plate and he sat back in his chair holding his stomach with a satisfied smile on his face. He didn't eat a lot, but he made up for it with sheer speed.

"So do you want to do anything for your birthday today?" asked Lily as she wiped Aiden's cheeks with a towel, cleaning up all the syrup he had managed to get even behind his ears.

"I was planning to go out for a little while," said Harry casually. He had to go back to Griffin's again. It was a bit obsessive, but it was his first actual breakthrough.

Lily shared a look with James. "Is to the same place you were at last night? I noticed that you weren't home last night when I went by your room."

He tensed unconsciously, and answered shortly, "Yeah, it's the same place."

"What's this place you keep disappearing off to?" asked James. "You were out pretty late last night."

Harry shrugged. "Just a place downtown. Nice atmosphere. Met a few nice people."

"You were downtown all last night?" asked Lily, looking like she was on the verge of worry or anger, he couldn't tell. It was more than likely a mixture of both.

"Yes, Mum," said Harry calmly, watching her with deliberate coolness. "I promise I didn't talk to any strangers."

James flashed Harry a look of warning. "Harrison…"

"Sorry," he mumbled, feeling marginally guilty for the comment.

Aiden was still, but his eyes watched them thoughtfully. Lily glanced at him and took a deep breath to calm herself. Harry understood. She didn't want to upset Aiden.

Lily sighed, and looked at him green eyes shining with worry. "Harrison, downtown's dangerous late at night. Especially if you're alone. Things happen."

"I know how to take care of myself," Harry replied with a sudden confidence that made her blink.

James took over. "You've been in a scrap or two, but we'll still worry about you. Nothing will change that, whether you can defend yourself or not."

Harry conceded his point and slowly nodded. "I know. I promise to always be careful when I'm out and by myself."

Lily opened her mouth to reply, and James covered her hand with his, and half smiled at Harry. "As long as you're careful, and you give us a heads up if you're going to be out really late."

Harry couldn't dismiss the concern painted so clearly upon her face, and answered softly, "Okay, then. Okay."

* * *

The sun was high in the sky when he stepped into the familiar alley that he had come to know well in the past few days. It was late afternoon and hot enough for him to don a pair of shorts, and a white shirt that said in big letters on the front, "The Me in Team". He was mildly impressed that he didn't have to fill out a questionnaire when he proclaimed to his parents that he was leaving for a few hours. They already knew where he was going, so all they did was bid him to be careful and be back for his birthday dinner tonight. He had to give credit where credit was due. They were trying. They weren't used to their son being independent from them, and Harry wasn't used to constant parental attention.

He glanced at his watch and it was nearing five o'clock as he opened the door and stepped into Griffin's. Ceiling fans lazily whirled above the nearly empty bar, except for three others settled at a table hunched over an old tome. Harry slid onto a barstool and waved at Sam who sauntered over, breaking into an easy smile when she saw him.

"Well if it isn't the banner boy for the Union Jack," she teased, wiping at the counter in front of him. "Come to dazzle me with another round of dry wit and politeness."

Harry adopted his own teasing smile. "So the mick finally has sobered up enough to have a real conversation with me. You know I've only come to drug your Guinness and have my way with you."

Sam snorted. "You don't have the right equipment to satisfy me."

"You mean a brewery?" Harry asked, his smile contradicting his confused tone.

Sam laughed and patted at her chest. "More like a set of tits, English."

"Bugger," said Harry sadly, firmly holding back a full blown smile. "Well… if you ever get tired of playing with knockers and want to try out—"

"Finish that sentence and you'll be seeing stars."

"That would be some foreplay," said Harry thoughtfully, staring into space. Laughing, he dodged the towel that she swiped at his head.

Sam shook her head, the smile not leaving her face. "Can I get you anything? Well anything with no alcohol." She snapped her fingers, and put on an overly apologetic expression. "Sorry but we're fresh out of tea."

Harry ignored her last jab and grinned victoriously as he slapped down his ID. "Screw that. I want a pint of Foster's."

She snatched up the ID, turned it this way and that, and even held it up to the light. Finally she begrudgingly handed it back to him. "Damn. There goes all the joy I get from denying you alcohol."

Harry winked. "Just like you on a Saturday night at the end of a date, you can't say no."

"The drink was on the house, but after that remark it's going to cost you."

"It was worth it," declared Harry, staring at the drink that was placed in front of him. It was the best thing he had seen all day.

He lifted the glass to his lips and tasted the beer. It was cold going down and hit his taste buds in an explosion of sensation. He closed his eyes and hoped that the low moan he emitted didn't sound as orgasmic as it did to his own ears. Foster's wasn't the best beer he had ever had, but after months with no alcohol it tasted like the best thing since Firewhiskey.

Sam raised an eyebrow, dark blue eyes watching him in wry amusement. "Was it good for you too?"

Harry refrained from commenting at that. He caressed the glass and looked around the bar. "Is it always dead at this time? It's always pretty busy when I come in at night."

Her smile left, replaced by a grim frown. "Word is the White Council just came into town."

Harry studied the purple haired woman. He knew enough to know that a visit by the White Council spelled something not so good. "I take it something is going down."

"They just got in this afternoon," she replied, quietly. "Its just rumors at this point. But they say a kid has been using some pretty black magic. Mind invasion, transmogrification… really heavy stuff."

Harry's eyes widened. The words were different, but he knew what they translated to in his world. Mind invasion – Legilimency. Transmogrification – Transfiguration. Were such things so illegal in this world enough to bring down the entire wizarding body down upon a wizard?

"So I guess they'll give him a trial and prison time?" asked Harry, itching for more information.

Sam looked away, her face seamed with sudden age and sorrow that it caused him to take pause. "You're part of the White Council. You know the Laws just as well as I. They'll most likely execute the wee one." Her eyes were shuttered and glassy. "It's always the young ones who don't know better."

Execute? What the hell. Those weren't death sentence violations. Not where he was from at least. Sam still believed he was a part of the White Council so learning these Laws from her was going to take some weaseling, since she already believed that he knew them. He shook his head. He was a dark wizard catcher, but willingly killing a kid for using black magic wasn't something that was done. It was usually instant Azakaban. Execution was saved for the truly depraved. Maybe black magic in this world twisted your soul further than what he was used to. At least he hoped. Otherwise he really had to be on his toes and watch himself until he learned all the ways to this world.

A figure moved in his peripheral vision, and he turned his head. Coming from the hall leading to the restrooms was non-other than Elaine. She moved with grace and Harry's lips quirked as she went to the same table from the other night and picked up the same book of poetry. A creature of habit that one was. He pushed the thought of the execution and the White Council to the back of his thoughts. Harry didn't want to be broody and sullen in front of a potential ally, friend… that was stretching it a bit. She did help him out, and he was banking on the chance that maybe she wouldn't mind helping a little more. Anyone who helped him in a fight was worth getting to know.

Harry grabbed his beer and stood up. "I see an old friend. Try not to miss me too much."

Sam's face cleared and her brow lifted, as she replied slow and dry, "However will I manage without you at my bar top."

"I really don't know," sighed Harry, sadly.

He approached Elaine who was absorbed in the book. Or appeared to be absorbed. Those gray eyes pinned him to the spot as he neared the table. He gave a little wave and took a seat fully aware and deeply amused by the narrowed eyed stare burning a hole through him.

"Elaine long time, no see," he said, cheerfully.

She rolled her eyes and closed her book. "Look, I know I helped you out during that fight and all, but we're not friends."

There she goes again. Harry scratched his head, confused. "Again, what fight were you watching? "

"I saw you fighting with that little stick," she replied, her voice part mocking and part taunting. "Most wizards stick with the standard staff for a focus. You have size issues?"

Harry grinned showing teeth. "It's what you do with it that counts. And I was doing pretty damn well till you rode in off your high horse."

"I only caught the end of the fight, but you keep telling yourself that."

Harry was beginning to think he had run into the world's first woman who was immune to his charm. He didn't think such a thing existed. Even Hermione was known to fold when he turned green eyes on her, and turned on the charm. It was like talking to a wall, only this wall kicked back.

Harry held up his hands in surrender. "I thought we've been over this. You're not my type. I just want to be your friend."

"I don't need a friend," Elaine responded instantly.

He blew out a frustrated breath. Ron wasn't even this stubborn. "Why not?"

Elaine flicked her long brown hair over her shoulder in an irritated gesture. "That's my business and it's going to stay that way. Now find your own table."

Harry made a big show of inspecting the chair and the tabletop. "This is your table? I don't see a sign."

"Ha. Funny," she snapped. "I was here first, so _move._"

"Oh, really?" asked Harry, too innocently.

"Yes, _really,_ Captain Hair Gel," she said, smirking as Harry's hand flew to his gravity-defying hair with a scowl.

Harry glared at her and said through gritted teeth, "My hair is like this naturally."

Elaine blinked in honest surprise. "Serious?"

Harry blew out an exasperated breath. "Cross my heart."

He couldn't be sure if he felt them or if he saw them first. The air grew thick, as magic whispered through the air, and the few patrons in the bar silenced in sudden quietness that seemed unbreakable. All eyes fell on the four figures that walked into the room. Three were clothed in grey cloaks, all male, and their expressions were stern and gave nothing away as to their true emotions. A woman stood before them, just as tall as their six foot forms, with a black silk robe two shades darker than the color of her skin. A purple stole was draped over her shoulders. Her hair was all grey but her eyebrows were dark, and set upon a face that didn't look old enough to have completely grey hair. Her dark brown eyes were imposing just as they were timeless.

"Fuck me," cursed Elaine, clenching the table tightly. "He's a damned _Warden!"_

Harry's head snapped at her hissed outcry, and was astonished to find the air empty. What the hell? Where did she go? He craned his neck around, searching wildly for the woman. It was just like the night he met her. Once again she had vanished. There was no telltale sound of air displacement of apparation, or the snap of magic that vibrated through the immediate area of Portkey activation. She had simply disappeared. Poof.

Two of the wardens stayed stationed at the door like sentries, and the woman and one very familiar figure moved to the bar top to talk to Sam. Harry didn't have any idea who the woman was, but he knew the man accompanying her. Peter was just as tall and surly looking as ever. Harry recalled Elaine's last words, and put two and two together. Peter was a Warden. Shit. He had heard whispered mutterings of the law enforcers of the White Council. Grey cloaks and enchanted swords were the official items of a Warden. They were Hit Wizards and Aurors all in one. These were the wizards that wizards stayed away from. And Harry had beaten one in a back alley fight. Damn. He quickly took note of the emergency exit. If he could just slip out unnoticed…He saw Sam's gaze flick toward his corner table. Double damn.

Harry was more than tempted to just leave. But he had a feeling that they would somehow just track him down. From some of the things he heard, these wizards were thorough when it came to getting their man. That was putting it lightly. He was still unsure how he would fair in a real fight between him and a wizard of this world, going full out. So he made the decision to stay, watching the duo walk toward him carefully. If they were civil then he could be civil. Peter knew some of what he could do, but he didn't show his full hand in their brief fight. If they wanted a fight, then Harry would give them one. The question is who would win?

Peter nodded jerkily as they came upon the table. "He is the one I told you about."

Harry quirked an eyebrow and stared blankly at them. "Hi."

"It is fortunate that we managed to cross paths," said the woman, her voice was smooth and rich like a diplomats. "It saved us the opportunity of tracking you down."

Harry crossed his arms, his stoic expression just as impassive as hers. "And you are? I already know Peter. How you feeling, old boy?"

Peter growled and muttered under his breath in German, eyes staring hotly into Harry. A slow grin spread across Harry's face, amused by the anger, and also taking a bit of pleasure in the fact that his smile served to further antagonize the larger man.

"Be at peace, Warden Becker," she said in a low tone. "I'm Martha Liberty. I'm a member of the Senior Council."

Harry swallowed and didn't let his surprise how. She was a Senior in the Council, which was like getting a visit from a member of the upper echelons of the Ministry of Magic. He watched as the few other guests in the bar threw money on the table and made hasty exits. He wished he could do the same.

"Why have I warranted a visit from one of the members of the Senior Council?" asked Harry. "Heard you were in town for an execution."

Martha frowned at him for a long moment, not speaking. "Word spreads fast. The will of the Council has already been carried out. Meeting with you was decided once Warden Becker informed us of your attack upon him."

Harry's eyes flashed and he sat up straighter, as anger swirled in his gut, and he spat, "I guess _Warden_ Drinks-a lot forgot to mention that it was the opposite. He attacked _me_, lady."

Martha shot Peter a look and said coldly, "He forgot to mention that part."

Peter cringed and ducked his head and said quickly, "I'm sorry, ma'am. I didn't mean to deceive, but my story isn't entirely untrue. He is a danger. He used magic against me that I haven't seen in all my years. He even used some type of spell of teleportation. I've never encountered anything like it."

Martha turned her gaze upon Harry, assessing him quietly. "I know for a fact that with the gift of magic as strong as yours that the White Council would have approached you when you came of age."

Harry shrugged, feeling a bit better that she got some of the story straight. "I was indisposed at the time."

"Who did you apprentice under if not a member of the Council?" she asked.

Tread carefully, Potter, his mind warned him. "I had a teacher but he long since past away. I learned a bit from here and there actually."

"Lay your focus on the table, boy," she stated, clearly not appeased by his answer.

He slid his wand from his pocket and laid it on the table. Martha didn't pick it up, but she tracked his movements like a hawk, and when the wand was bared she eyed it critically.

"An odd choice for a focus, but I have seen more exotic choices," she muttered, staring at his wand.

Again with the wand comment. He wondered if his eye really just twitch or did he imagine it. What did these people use, tree trunks? His wand was pretty long as far as wands went from what he was used to.

Harry made a show of looking at his wand. "Do you want to dust for fingerprints?"

Martha glared at him and snapped, "You would be wise to show respect, boy. You are a wizard and as such you fall under the authority of the White Council. You haven't been approached before, so consider this your first warning. Remember this: There are Seven Laws of Magic. Thou must never use magic to kill. To enthrall. To invade the thoughts of another mortal. To seek knowledge and power beyond the Outer Gates. To transform others. To reach beyond the borders of life. To swim against the currents of time."

He knew what happened if one law was broken but he asked anyway, "Or?"

Martha's eyes grew hard. "If found guilty of violating a law, you will be labeled a warlock, put under a trial and then executed."

"Where do I sign up to join the Council?" asked Harry, eagerly. "I reckon you folks have got the right idea."

Peter stepped forward, smiling wolfishly. "There is a test conducted by a Warden and then approved by the Council."

Harry snapped his fingers with over exaggerated movements. "Darn," he replied. "And here I thought I had my sarcasm down pat. I always get sarcastic and eager mixed up. Excuse me."

"Rather a member of the White Council or not," declared Martha, watching Harry noticeably not amused. "You abuse magic or break one of the Laws we will hunt you down and deal with you. You have been warned, Mr. Potter."

Harry didn't let his surprise show at her knowing his last name. Instead he gave a sharp salute and an answering smile. "Duly noted, Ms. Liberty. It's been a pleasure."

Without another word, she spun around her robes silently swishing. Peter gave Harry one more mad dog glare, to which Harry mocked, and followed the woman from the bar, taking the two Wardens guarding the door with them. Sam was upon him the instant the front door closed.

"I thought you were apart of the Council!" she snapped, blue eyes flashing, and Irish accent coming out thick in response to her agitation. "You lied!"

Harry was still unwinding from the tension Martha and the Wardens invoked, so it took him a minute to respond. "Sorry. When I said I was a wizard, you just assumed and I didn't correct you…"

Sam rolled her eyes. "Just like a man. Blame it on somebody else. What else are you lying about?"

Harry stood up. "Nothing else. Look, I really don't have time for another interrogation. I like you, Sam, but I have secrets like everybody else so back off."

He stomped out the bar with anger, irritation, and tiredness swirling around him. He stepped no more than a foot outside before he left in a swirl and an echoing _crack,_ as he apparated away.

* * *

He spent the evening still wound up pretty tight. It was a test of control that he managed to make it through dinner without being sullen or snappish. His nerves were frayed and he was feeling testy, but he was doing his best to hide it. His parents didn't deserve attitude after going through so much trouble for him on his birthday. After dinner, desert was had, and then they moved into the living room to bestow gifts. Harry sat in the armchair while the rest of his family huddled together on the couch, watching him as he unwrapped their gifts.

Harry stared at the documents before him with a puzzled frown. "I'm not sure what this means."

"Your grandparents set up a trust fund for you to recieve when you turned twenty one," answered Lily. "Those are the papers that contain all the information for the trust. Look on the page behind that one. It shows how much they put away for you."

He flipped to the next page and boggled at all the zeros staring him in the face. Somebody pinch him. This had to be a mistake.

"Wha—I— This—" He stuttered and stopped unable to finish a coherent thought as his brain went bye bye at the amount of money that was all for him, in his name.

James looked amused. "You can do anything you want with it. Your grandparents wanted you to always be taken care of."

"And then some," said Harry, baffled. "Does Aiden have one, too?"

Lily nodded, kissing Aiden on the top of his head as he snuggled into her side. "They started one for him right before they passed on."

Harry shook his head, still stunned. "This is amazing."

Not to be outdone, Aiden jumped up from the couch and thrust a picture right under Harry's nose. He laughed and took the offered picture. It was another drawing. It was two stick figures. One was tall and black hair went everywhere. A woman with long, brightly colored yellow hair stood next to the figure holding hands. A large sun was drawn on the female's side, and on the male's side were multiple balls of light colored in a wide array of colors.

"Is the guy me?" asked Harry, grinning as Aiden nodded happily. He squinted at the female trying to get some clue as to her identity from the picture. "Who is the girl?"

Aiden smiled enigmatically and shook his head. He giggled and ran back to the couch, nestling back into the spot between Lily and James. Okay. It's not like it was nowhere the oddest thing Aiden had ever done. He sat the picture down and thanked his little brother who was yawning, and increasingly looking as if he was about to fall asleep at any moment.

"Oh, dear, I better put you to bed," began Lily, noticing Aiden's condition. "Its way past your bed time anyway."

James hugged Aiden and Harry went over and got in a hug as well. Lily picked him up and whisked the boy off to bed. Harry slouched in the chair arranging his presents on the coffee table.

"How are you enjoying being twenty one?" asked James, grinning.

Harry shrugged. "It's been interesting."

James cocked his head. "How so?"

"Just a few out of the blue things happened while I was out," responded Harry, his tone deliberately light and nonchalant.

James nodded knowingly and winked. "You went out for a drink didn't you? It's what I would have done."

Harry let an abashed grin settle on his face. "You got me."

"I knew it." James smirked. "I wish I made that bet with your mother after all. There goes ten bucks."

Harry kept his story magic free as he told James about going downtown to have a beer and his subsequent reaction. James almost laughed himself stupid and Harry found himself grinning carefree, as the laughter James emitted was infectious to breaking bad mood. It was easy to see why the older man had so many laugh lines on his face. Lily appeared in the room and returned to her seat on the couch.

"What's all the laugher about? I heard you all the way upstairs."

James kissed her cheek, eliciting a small smile from her. "Just male bonding. Guy talk."

They sat in an easy silence for a moment till it was broken by Lily. She moved closer on the couch and reached over to the armchair and took Harry's hand. He could see her mentally running through the words in her head, and knew whatever she was about to say was going to be heavy. He tried to brace himself for another round of sharing. Obviously once at breakfast wasn't enough for the day.

"You know I worry about you, and I always will. I'm a mother. It's what we do. But you're a man. Your not my little baby boy anymore," she said, sadly. "I see that and it's important that you realize that I will try and treat you like the adult that you are."

James nodded. "Twenty one is an important time in our family. For the Evans and the Potters. Its not just another birthday. It's a time for new growth. It's a rite of passage. Harrison, its time we gave you you're birthright."

He reached beside him and handed Harry a box. Harry didn't have a clue as to what was going on. His parents were serious and silent, as they watched him take the box. He turned it over in his hands frowning at it. It was about seven by nine inches, and carved entirely out of a solid piece of wood. There was no key, latch, or cover that identified an opening. Harry ran his fingers along the box, feeling for an opening, or some hidden catch. He looked to his parents for help, but paused at their almost closed expressions that adorned their faces. They expected him to figure this out. Whatever it was. His fingers pulled, twisted, and rubbed but nothing happened. He didn't give up. His eyes spaced out and his fingers moved seemingly moved on their own accord, as they caressed the box in a peculiar movement. The box exploded open, and Harry suddenly realized what happened. The box was an expertly crafted puzzle box, and had only opened by his use of directional force upon it in various ways. It was brilliant in a simplistic, but not overly so way.

A ring fell from the box inside and landed on his lap. He picked it up the shiny, platinum ring. Writing in a flowing script was engraved on the band. It appeared to be Latin but unlike the dialect he was familiar with. It had to be older, some throwback obscure form. Set upon the ring's surface was a small blood red stone. It looked like a ruby, smaller versions than the ones adorned on Gryffindor's sword.

Harry tore his eyes from the ring and looked at his parents. "Don't secret decoder rings usually come in cereal boxes?" he joked.

James and Lily shared a look that was secretive, and full of silent communication. Lily closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened them it was like looking at a different person. The sadness from earlier had long ago vanished, and was replaced now by a grimness that he had never seen worn on her face.

"There is more to your father and I then what you see and know, Harrison," she said, her words came out heavy and slow, unlike her usually light and chipper tone. "You've come along way from Summerholm and your sickness. You're old enough, and strong enough to handle the truth." She took a deep breath. "There is much you don't know of the world. Beneath what you see, there is a whole other world. It's a world with faeries, ghouls, ghosts, vampires. There is even an entire community of wizards governed by a group called the White Council."

Harry stared at her, his eyes widening and hands clenched so tightly that his nails bit into his palm drawing blood.

"There are groups dedicated to keeping the darker aspects of the supernatural at bay. Our family. The Evans and Potters have belonged to one group since the Magna Carta was first issued. The Venatori Umbrorum is an ancient society that fights the darkness not with magic, but with political maneuvering, modern weaponry, and knowledge." Her eyes were steely and passionate, and her voice was filled with pride. "Your father and I are members just as our parents, and their parents, and their ancestors were. We use our influence in society to make operating and moving about in the world very difficult for the supernatural predators that prey on innocents."

"What was that?" asked James, hearing Harry mumble inaudibly under his breath.

Harry didn't bring his head up. He stared at the blood that pooled in his palms. "Venatori Umbrorum. It's Latin. The Hunters of Shadows. Right?"

James nodded. His normally bright eyes were just as serious and eerily disconcerting as Lily's. "That's right. That ring is a symbol of a Venatori member. We argued against telling you about this due to your past condition, but you have proven strong and resilient since you got well. I was inducted into the family secret on my twenty first birthday, the same as you. And the same as your mother. Its tradition. You have a week to think about—"

"No."

Lily was startled at the clipped response. "Harrison, I know it's a lot to take in but you don't need to make a decision now."

Harry finally looked up and his eyes bored into them with such fury that they froze in their spots. Harry glared at them feeling so much rage boil in his gut that it threatened to spill over, and consume him. He welcomed it. The more he heard the more furious he got, and the more his rage grew till he wanted to literally cause something to explode.

Harry face grew dark, tight, angry. "Is this some type of sick joke? At first I thought you were pulling my leg, but what made me believe you was when you mentioned the White Council. Magic is real. _Magic is real_!" he screamed, slamming his hand down on the table hard enough to cause the vase on it to crash to the floor, shattering. "You knew. You knew! I went into some psycho delusional fantasy, babbling, drooling, and screaming I was a wizard, and I could do magic—And you still sent me to Summerholm? Did it occur to you that something _magical_ was going on with me!"

"Son, calm down, please," James demanded, he ran a hand across his face with a weary sigh. "Of course we thought that! How could we not! You were tested at puberty for magic. You came up weak. Barely a practitioner, the middle class of the magical world. You didn't have enough power to make a full blown wizard. And after Sirius and your sickness…" He bit off, forcing himself to not dwell. "You were tested again. You weren't there! They told us the same thing. Your mind was simply gone! No magic involved. You always loved magic. It fascinated you when you were a child. It was no surprise you built up a fantasy about it."

Harry let out a sound that was between laughter and a cry. He shook his head. Emotions swirled through him in a storm of rage. It was so much that it was hard to even concentrate. He didn't know where to begin.

"You two are biggest liars I've ever met in my life," said Harry viciously. "All that time I sat there convincing myself magic was real, and you two knew all along. I sat there in that room for hours sometimes telling myself I wasn't crazy. And you—"

Lily shook her head, and said gently, "We thought you got over this, Harrison. You told us you knew the truth. What you dreamed was a fantasy. That magic world with wizards on broomsticks, dark lords, magical schools—" She looked up at him with green eyes, pleading. "It doesn't exist."

Enough was enough. Something snapped within him at that last sentence.

His body acted on impulse, as it naturally did when his emotions grew uncontrollable, and when he was pushed to defend his beliefs. He snatched his wand from his pocket and his father grabbed Lily instinctively. Harry's arm whipped through the air and he flicked the wand at the coffee table. It lifted up by some unseen force and rocketed into the air. Lily screamed as the table smashed into the wall with enough force to shake plaster from the ceiling. His leveled his wand at the armchair and swished sharply, giving a satisfied bark of mad laughter as the chair exploded in a shower of splintered wood and stuffing, that harmlessly bounced off the shield he conjured. His parents threw themselves behind the couch. He waved his wand in a wide arc and the couch shrunk till it was the size of a matchbox. With eyes full of fear and confusion, his parents looked up at him from their crouched positions. James dragged Lily to her feet, and Harry breathing hard met their eyes with unwavering resentment.

"Magic does exist," he said in a harsh whisper. "And I am a wizard."

"Harrison—" breathed Lily, tears spilling down her cheeks.

James grabbed her hand in a tight hold, as he stared at Harry with unreadable emotion, coming to a conclusion with panted breath. "Not Harrison… Harry."

Lily nodded and replied in a choked, broken cry, "I know, James. I know."

* * *

I know a lot of people who read this story haven't read the Dresden Files, so I will of course make the story easy to follow in regards to that series world and characters. Its a great series and I suggest everyone read the books. For those that have read the books we will jump into the actual plot soon, and the setting will be during Summer Knight.


	8. You Can't Go Home Again

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter either. It belongs to its creator J.K. Rowling and probably Warner Bros. too. I'm not too sure about that. This piece of literature is simply the work of a humble fan. I also credit Jim Butcher for various themes, subjects, or references that I may use.

* * *

Author Notes: This is a Harry Potter crossover with the Dresden Files the book series. All my knowledge of the Dresden Files comes from the books. I've never seen the TV series. For the timeline that will be stated later. Thanks to the folks at DLP for help with editing.

* * *

**Awaken Sleeper.  
**Chapter Seven: You Can't Go Home Again  
by: Water Mage

Inhale. Pause. Exhale.

Smoke lazily curled through the air and Harry flicked the cigarette ashes into the tray on the table beside him. He slouched further into the armchair listening to the pitter patter of rain as it splashed against the window. The rain was more than a drizzle and the sun had been invisible for over two hours. Inhale. Pause. Exhale. He tapped the cigarette ashes once more into the tray and sighed. His gaze wandered through the room that had been his home for the past three days.

The W Hotel was one of the city's fanciest and luxurious hotels. With the 42' plasma televisions and eleven-foot ceilings, and amazing amenities it was reasonable that his suite was costing him four hundred dollars a night. It was worth it. And with the money from his trust fund, he could afford it. He continued looking over the room, searching over its contents. Even in the barely lit room he easily found the form he sought out. She was hard to miss.

A woman was asleep on the bed. A thin sheet covered only her mid-section, keeping her scandalously decent, and hiding all of her womanly bits. Yet it didn't hide her curves or her bare legs of a sun kissed hue, stretched incitingly across the bed. Blonde hair fanned across the mattress surrounding her head like a halo. Even in sleep, she was beautiful. Her beauty was what attracted him to her in the first place. Too bad he couldn't remember her name. He tugged at his memories. Was it Rory or Dawn? They sounded completely different, but they hadn't done much talking last night in the Ghostbar, the W's rooftop lounge.

It started in an apology over a spilled drink. There were introductions, flirting, and then enough drinks were consumed for them to forget discretion and take it back to his room for an all-night sexathon. It was the hottest and most intense night he had ever had. It had been far too long since he had felt the caress and feel of a woman sliding against his own body. Did the Earth move? Yes. Did he see fireworks? More than that. He saw a nuclear bomb. He shook his head. It had been far too long. He closed his eyes and brought the cigarette to his lips once more.

Inhale. Pause. Exhale.

The nicotine was doing a good job of soothing his nerves and mellowing him out. Hermione would have a fit if she could see that he was smoking again after he had quit for the second time. Some habits were just hard to break. It was helping but he couldn't fully stop his mind from wandering back to that night. The night from three days ago when all the cards fell down…

The steam he felt a moment ago drained from his body after his wild use of magic. The feeling it left him with was a hollow ache in his chest that was part sadness, dismay, and resignation. The secret was out. They stared at Harry with so much horror in their eyes that it caused a sinking dread to settle in his chest. He averted his eyes as the full weight of their gaze penetrated through his haze of draining fury. The quiet in the room was only broken by ragged breathing and Lily's quiet sniffling.

"I'm right," demanded James, breaking the unspoken silence. "You're Harry, aren't you?"

Harry flinched at the cold tone of the accusation and answered wearily, "My name is Harry Potter."

Lily shook her head wildly, tears splashing across her face. "H-how?"

"This is impossible," muttered James simultaneously. His face was hard but his eyes. His eyes gave away the inner emotions that swirled within. Confusion and shock was displayed prominently in his hazel eyes, easily read by any who knew him.

Harry laughed bitterly. "Impossible is my life story."

It was true. How many times had he defied the odds? He had escaped death twice and even managed to overthrow the darkest lord of his world not once, but twice as well. It was a miracle that he had even made it through his teenage years alive.

"Where's my Harrison?" demanded Lily, her green eyes pleading with him for an answer.

He looked away and replied quietly, "I don't know."

"You better figure out," snapped James, his tone growing colder after each word. "What's going on and _where is our son_?"

"I don't know damn it!" snapped Harry, running a frustrated hand through his hair. He gripped his wand in his other hand so tightly that his knuckles were white. "I was fighting. There was a Killing Curse—Green light was all I saw and I was here. I woke up in that _place,_" he spat out the last part as if it were a swear word. "I don't know where Harrison is!"

"You're possessing my son!" Lily gasped, hand flying to her mouth.

They thought he had the answers. He didn't. He was just as clueless about all of this as they were. This is why he never told them in the in the first place. How could he give them answers when he had none for himself? Harry could barely look his father in the eye, fearing to bare witness to that cold anger again.

Harry sighed. "I'm not possessing anyone, okay! I just don't know what happened."

"I'll tell you what happened," declared James, dark eyes flashing. "You hijacked my son's body. His soul's somewhere and you'll put it back and get the hell out."

Lily's hair whipped around fast as she spun on her heel. "James!"

He ignored her and stared hard at Harry. "That's not Harrison!"

It was true but it still hurt. If he was going to have this confrontation then he was going to be a man about it. Harry squared his shoulders and stared James straight in the eye. He tried to project an image of collected calmness and remorsefulness.

"I'm sorry," began Harry softly. "I honestly don't know what happened to Harrison's soul. There's nothing within me of him that remains. All that he was I am. You're my parents just as you were his."

Lily took a step forward. "Oh—"

James grabbed her arm and jerked her back to his side. He glared at Harry. "Lily, stop it! You don't know what he really is."

"He's still our baby boy, James!" argued Lily, wrenching her arm from his grip. "He doesn't even show any characteristics of spirit possession. Look at him!"

James let out a hollow laugh. "That's not my Harrison. This _thing_ is not my son. And I want him out of my house."

"James!" shouted Lily.

Harry ignored her. He stared at his father, intense, searching. "No, mum. It's okay. If he doesn't want this _thing_ staying in his house then I won't stay here."

"Harrison— Harry…" Lily corrected herself, breaking into fresh tears.

"Is this what you really want?" asked Harry, not breaking eye contact with James.

James bowed his head and when he looked back up at Harry, those eyes were angry and glittered with righteous vengeance. "I will give you until the count of ten to leave this house. Once we're done I'll bring down the entire resources of the Venatori Umbrorum on you, and we will exorcise your soul from my boy's body. If it doesn't work, I will put a bullet in you."

Harry's hurt flickered briefly across his face before he schooled his features into a mask of blankness. "If that's what you want you're welcome to try. It'll take a lot more than that to kill me."

"We'll see," said James.

"Dad," Harry murmured, taking one last look at his parents before apparating away from the destroyed living room and their distraught presence.

He gathered his stuff from his room, checked into a suite at the W Hotel and hadn't looked back. That was three days ago. There was a clap of thunder and it startled him from his internal reminiscing. James hadn't made good on his word. There had been no sign of the Venatori, and Harry wasn't sure if that was a good thing or bad thing. Either he had changed his mind or they were waiting to mass their forces before attacking him head on. If the latter was the case then they would be in for a fight. Harry would never go down without swinging. He swallowed thickly. James had been so angry. Harry had never thought that James was even capable of raising his voice. But Harry had started it, hadn't he? The rash of anger that had risen within him had been something unexpected and troubling. It was like something had taken over him in that instant. It had been more than irrational anger. It had almost been like a force within itself.

Arms wrapped themselves around his shoulders, circling him. He smiled as a chin came to rest upon his shoulder, and a soft cheek pressed against his own. Blond hair the color of the sun fell onto his shoulder as he turned his head. She regarded him with cornflower blue eyes, matching his smile with an answering one. She pressed a soft kiss against his neck.

"What are you doing up?" she asked softly.

Harry found himself staring at her rosy mouth that begged to be kissed. "I think the question is what the bloody hell am I doing away from you?"

He gave into temptation and kissed her long and deep. Emotions surged forth and he found himself ready to go once more for another round. He had way too much pent up sexual energy. If it wasn't for the need to breathe he probably wouldn't have even pulled away. And as if her kiss was like the sunrise coming up on the horizon, her name appeared to him in a sudden burst of clarity. Dawn. Her name was Dawn.

Dawn nodded at the cigarette in the ashtray. "Those things will kill you."

His lips twitched. "Death by cigarettes is definitely not how I see the end going for me."

"So says everyone else with lung caner," countered Dawn, raising an eyebrow. She placed tiny butterfly kisses against his skin and murmured, "Are you going to keep smoking that cigarette, or do you want to make it get it really smoky in here."

Harry snorted. "Nice come-on. It wasn't needed though. I'm a sure thing, love."

Definitely a sure thing, he thought closing his eyes and losing himself once more in the ensuing kiss. She took his hand and with a smile led him back to the bed. He stripped off the terrycloth bathrobe as he went, matching her current state of undress. Which was nothing. Thoughts of his parents, the Venatori Umbrorum, and any thought that didn't pertain to falling into bed with this gorgeous blonde fled his mind.

* * *

Harry took a seat at the table. It had stopped raining yesterday night. Dawn left after a very long day of not leaving his suite, enjoying the finer things two people can do together with just their bodies. The sun beamed down on him warming his skin. He adjusted his sunglasses and glanced at his watch. Why had he agreed to this? Surprise didn't cover it when the hotel front desk relayed to him the message that a one Lily Potter wanted to meet him for lunch. With trepidation and a healthy amount of suspicion, Harry arrived at the meeting place at noon. It was a charming bistro with outdoor seating.

He hoped he wasn't making a mistake by agreeing to this meeting. He really shouldn't have come but what can he say. He always was a sucker for hopeless situations. It must be the dormant masochist in him. He glanced at his watch again. Half past twelve. Meeting time. Lily Potter arrived right at that moment looking less than her forty plus years of age. She was dressed in a summer dress like the majority of other women on the street. Huge sunglasses hid half her face, and if they weren't the current style Harry would have suspected that she didn't want to be seen with him. She smiled shakily and took the empty seat at the circular table.

"I'm glad you decided to come," she said, sliding off her sunglasses revealing shuttered green eyes.

Harry shrugged, offering a tentative half smile. "I figured I had nothing to lose by not coming."

Lily looked at him for a few seconds, and then quietly admitted, "I've been worried about you."

It would be a lie if he said he wasn't relieved or comforted by that admission. He looked down at the sunglasses in his hands and sighed, "I've been alright."

"I guess you really are used to taking care of yourself." Lily looked on the verge of crying. "All those times I tried to mother you and…"

Harry shifted in his seat awkwardly. "I'm really sorry for lying, but I didn't want you to go through any pain from realizing you lost a son."

Her face paled and she swiped hastily at the tears pricking at her eyes. "Harrison's really..."

"Gone," muttered Harry, looking away. He couldn't bear to look at her crying. It caused the turbulent emotions warring within to claw that much harder at his insides. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry isn't good enough," said Lily abruptly, her eyes flashing at him sharply. She broke her glare after a pause that felt like an eternity and her shoulders relaxed, and she looked very tired all of a sudden. "I can't forgive you. Ever. But… I can try and understand."

Harry's shoulders slumped and he looked at her, perplexed. "But why? Your job is to hunt the supernatural. I would think you'd take me out with Dad and the rest of the Venatori."

Lily shook her head. "I convinced your father against telling the others. This is a family affair and I want to keep it that way."

Harry lips thinned in a frown. "How do you know I'm not dangerous? You remember what I did to the living room."

"I may not be a wizard such as yourself," said Lily solemnly. "But I have an even higher rank than James for a reason." She opened her purse and he saw the glint of steel of a handgun. "I've stayed alive this long by being careful."

He didn't want to let her know that in reality her gun held very little threat to him. What good was a gun when he could either magic a shield to deflect bullets or transfigure the instrument into a dove? Better to let her live in her bubble of safety. She clicked her purse shut as the waitress came by the table to take their order. They both ordered water and asked for more time to look through the menu.

"I have so many questions," sighed Lily.

Harry chuckled, but it lacked any warmth. "You aren't the only one with questions. I've been questioning anything and everything since the day I woke up here."

"Five months," murmured Lily, staring at the salt and pepper shakers. "All this time… You've been pretending to be Harrison for that long? Are you sure that there isn't some part of him that's not all gone. Surely there has to be something left."

He shook his head. "I have no memories of his or anything… Honestly, I just woke up and I was here. In this body."

"Harrison dreamed about Harry Potter, _you_," she corrected herself, sadly. "for so long. We would go visit him and it was like we weren't even there. He was lost in his fantasy world, always mumbling, shouting… I can only remember once, three years ago, when he was perfectly lucid and coherent. It was a breakthrough that was over as quick as it came."

Harry pondered that information. Three years ago would have put him at eighteen. The year that he became free from destiny's reigns. The Battle of Hogwarts and the defeat of Lord Voldemort. Memories rushed through his mind faster than he could track. Faces familiar, yet long dead appeared in his minds eye, replacing one after another by the many events that circulated through that unstable time. How could he ever forget? It was also the time he _died_. Technically. The Killing Curse from Voldemort failed once more to truly kill him, succeeding only in rendering him unconscious and thrusting Harry's spirit into that otherworldly King's Cross station. Had Harry's brief foray into that not-place somehow broken the connection Harrison shared with him enough to bring him to his senses?

"You have an idea," realized Lily, leaning forward intently. "Your eyes look just like James when he recognizes something."

He didn't know that. He rubbed his neck and turned away from her intense gaze. "Well, something in my life happened that year. Honestly, a lot of crap happened around that time. I was hit with a curse that should've killed me, but it only knocked me unconscious."

"So there's a connection between your lives," said Lily thoughtfully. "Your very souls…"

She stopped her train of thought as the waitress returned to drop off their waters. They confessed to needing more time to order and the young woman smiled and nodded, but it was clearly fake and it was easy to tell she wanted nothing more to kick them out for taking up a table. Harry had to remember to tip her really well.

Lily waited till the waitress was far away from them before continuing. "I've never heard of anything like this happening before. We of course had you, I mean Harrison…" her eyes dimmed but she trudged on. "Checked out by the Venatori to see if there was some unnatural reason for your condition. But they detected nothing. All tests came back normal. We obviously need better tests."

Harry just shrugged at her bitter tone. "I don't even know what happened and I'm the one going through it."

"I've seen a lot of wizards, but I've never seen magic slung around the way you did the other night," said Lily, lazily stirring the ice in her water with a straw.

"Seriously?" asked Harry, baffled.

He hadn't really done anything a sixth year Hogwarts student couldn't do. He had only tossed out a couple of reducto curses and a shrinking charm. Nothing complex. From the brief show of magic he had seen, which only came from his duel with Peter, the wizards here were nothing to sneeze at.

Lily nodded, eyes fixed on Harry. He wasn't sure what she was thinking. And he really wasn't sure if he wanted to know. Either she was crying, snapping, or sad around him, and each mood changed in the blink of an eye. She was trying to be strong and get through this with a clear head, but she was having trouble telling her heart what her head already knew. Harry just didn't want her to start crying again. He wasn't good around crying people or people who exuded lots of emotion and wanted to talk about it. Chick flick moments, James had called them once. He broke from his musing as Lily answered his question.

"The White Council are long time allies of the Venatori…" she broke off, and her eyes grew wide. "Do you even know about the Laws of Magic?"

Harry snorted. He couldn't help it. "I've met a couple of representatives of the Council. I've been informed of the Seven Laws and the penalty for breaking one. It was _enlightening_."

"Don't take a warning from the White Council lightly," warned Lily, utterly serious. "If they've warned you… That is your one and only warning. From what I've seen you can do things they can't, and I know that's not even all you can do. A magical school education…" she shook her head at the thought. "And with the way history works—"

"Humans fear what they cannot understand," interjected Harry, nodding knowingly. Surprisingly, he had remembered that from one of the handful of times of being awake during History of Magic in his younger years. The Witch Trails was a hard lecture to fall asleep to. Speaking of… "Do you think Dad will ever want to talk to me again?"

Lily rubbed her forehead, and Harry for the first time noticed how completely exhausted she looked. "I want to say yes. I really do, but I don't know. It's been rough the past few days."

Guilt swam up his throat so thick that he could have choked on it. Or maybe it was vomit. "I'm sorry. I don't know how many times I have to say it. Lying, hiding, the spell slinging. Truthfully, a large part of me was just being selfish at having parents. I didn't want to hurt you, but I didn't want to give you up either."

"I want to hate you so much," admitted Lily, swiping irritably at her bangs that fell in front of her eyes. She sighed and looked at him with sad eyes and continued quietly, "But it's impossible. Call it maternal instincts or something else, but I _feel_ like you're still my baby. I've loved you since the day you were born, and these five months I've loved you just the same."

This is why he hated these sharing feeling moments. He never knew what to say. He knew how he felt. His emotions were wound so tightly inside his chest like a ball that just wound that much tighter when he tried to put his feelings into words.

"You're the only parents I've ever really known," said Harry, watching his own hands clench involuntarily. "It hasn't been that long, but...uh," he shrugged awkwardly. "I'm not very good at this – You, Dad, and Aiden are family to me now."

Lily smiled softly. "I feel the same way…Harry. Your father will just need some time to let it sink in and adjust."

"You're doing a good job," replied Harry, meaning it.

"Its either I try my best to understand," she answered, shifting uncomfortably. "Or lose my son again. And I…I don't know if I can go through that again."

"I'll stay away from Dad till he's ready to talk." He looked at Lily. "But I still want to see you and Aiden if you'll let me."

When she smiled this time it reached her eyes. "I'll like that a lot." She slid her sunglasses back on. "It's about time I left. I have a meeting on the Hill soon."

Meeting on Capitol Hill? The Potter's were more affluent than he thought. Harry rose. He really didn't know what to do. Do they go in for a hug or a hand shake? Finally they settled on a hug. It was stiff and lacked the usual warmth. But at least it was progress.

"I'm glad we had this meeting. At least you don't hate me," grinned Harry, unreasonably pleased.

Lily found herself mirroring his smile. "I'll look forward to getting to know you really this time. I'll keep in touch with you and arrange another meeting soon."

Harry's eyebrows rose. "How did you even know where I was staying?"

"We have our ways. Very few things are beyond our reach," she answered, silently implying the Venatori Umbrorum was not a power to be taken lightly.

His mother gave him another smile and hurried across the street. He lost her in the swarm of people walking the sidewalks. Harry stood there for a minute letting it all sink in. That went very unexpectedly to say the least. He threw down a ten on the table for the waitress, and then remembering that they took up her table for a half hour without ordering threw down another ten.

That had to have been one of the better meetings he had ever had. It was touch and go. Sometimes tense, sometimes awkward, but it was better than the bullet that James promised to put through him when they met again. So definitely a good meeting. At least he had one Potter on his side. He may have inherited his mothers temper, but his stubbornness came all from James. If there was one Harry knew how to do and that was hold a grudge. And he didn't see James getting over any of this anytime soon. He needed space and time to think. How long? He didn't know. He would keep his distance until then, and let his father make the first move.

Things were getting complicated too fast and too soon, and he still knew next to nothing about this world's supernatural environment. Two groups stood behind him like shadows. The Venatori Umbrorum and the White Council. He couldn't decide which one was worse. He snorted. The White Council obviously. The Venatori didn't have his number like the Council did. Martha Liberty looked pretty damn serious about coming down on him if he ever broke a law. If his mother was being honest then the Venatori Umbrorum didn't know a new breed of wizard walked this Earth, and he wanted to keep it that way. He was better off keeping his head low till he sufficiently learned more.

He crossed the street at the crosswalk navigating the back to the hotel. He could have apparated back but he needed to clear his head after that unpredicted meeting. He was thinking intently, but he wasn't too far in his thoughts not to notice that legs that fell instep next to him.

He turned and looked at the person who matched his long stride. Long, light brown hair the color of wheat fluttered in the breeze as Elaine stared straight ahead, face stoic and eyes carefully blank. Harry blinked. With her habit of appearing or disappearing without warning he could almost believe either he was imagining her, or the woman was a ghost. Both were false of course, but it would be a strong case.

Harry glanced at her and quirked an eyebrow. "Your I don't need a friend stance doesn't hold much water by seeking me out."

"Did you tell the White Council about me?" she asked flatly, not breaking her stride.

"No, no," he argued, shaking his head. "This is how it's going to go down. For every question you ask and I answer, I expect the same right back at you."

Harry deliberately led her away from his hotel, making a right instead of a left. There was a pause in silence that seemed to last longer than necessary, as the older woman mulled over the offer. Tough. It was the best deal she was going to get. Some people charged a first born child for information. She was getting off easy in some circles.

"Fine," she agreed, warily.

Harry shook his head. "Alright then, no. I told the White Council nothing about you. I'm no snitch." His lips quirked the tiniest bit at the familiar word.

Her shoulders lost some of their tenseness as she noticeably relaxed and she muttered, "Good."

"My turn. How did you find me?" he asked, face dark with sudden fierceness.

He was thankful he wore long sleeves today. His wand slid from its position in the sleeve and perfectly settled in his hand. He flicked his wand against his side opposite from her, silently casting spells. By the time he was done he had cast a notice me not charm around them and illusioned the immediate space in front of them. No one around them noticed the pair enter the closed construction yard, slipping through the plastic tarps covering the entrance to the unfinished building. By the time he was finished posing his question he had her out maneuvered and completely unaware. His kind of odds.

Elaine gazed at him intensely, taking in his dark expression. "Is this the part where you say or else?"

"Maybe," he answered shortly. She held up her index finger and around its tip was a single hair, dark and long. He looked at her expectantly. "I take it there's going to be an explanation? I'm not Sherlock Holmes, woman."

"I thought you had some intelligence." She rolled her eyes. "When I saw you last at Griffin's I took a hair from your head. I used it to track its owner, you. Your apprenticeship must've been extremely remedial if you don't even know a tracking spell."

Tracking spell? That sounded useful. Only the Ministry of Magic had the necessary knowledge to immediately track wizards and witches, and even then it was only useful after a trigger was set to initiate the trace.

"My training was fine," replied Harry, he brought his arm up and trained his wand on her. He smirked at the stunned look on her face. "Oh, look. The remedial wizard managed to get the drop on you."

Maybe it was the wand being trained on her but she stiffened in sudden shock and understanding. There was a swift sensation like soft buzzing along his skin and she lashed out with her arm. The illusion that they were still on the sidewalk vanished in a haze of rippling, distorted air. Their surroundings became the interior of a half completed building.

Elaine shook her head, disbelieving. "You didn't realize I put a tracking spell on you, yet you managed a glamour so elaborate I would expect to come from a Sidhe lord."

"Whatever," muttered Harry, not taking his wand off her.

He was damn curious about the fact she disrupted his spell only by waving her hand, and what was that weird buzzing sensation. Magic? Wandless magic wasn't powerful enough to register along his senses. It frankly was only useful for small magical spells, and certain talents. At least the wandless magic that he knew of. Who was to say what the wizards here could do without a wand.

"Only point that stick at me if you intend to do something with it," stated Elaine, managing to keep her expression opaque.

He wasn't completely buying it however. He could see the calculating caution in her eyes. Good. "I might just decide to turn you into a donkey. Keep talking."

"You would risk bringing down the might of the White Council? Transmogrification of others is against the law or didn't you know that either."

Harry's laughed. "Don't be stupid. I know that. But since you bring up the White Council... I have a question for you. Do you think I didn't notice your Houdini act the other day? I did some thinking. The only reason someone would hide when the White Council comes a knocking is if they've done something not so nice." His lips twisted into a wolfish grin, as he studied her next reaction. "So tell me Elaine, what have you done to hide from the big bad wolf."

If looks could kill Elaine would have liquefied him with her glare. Aw. Where's the love. "You were on a roll Inspector Gadget you tell me."

"Off the top of my head," said Harry, pretending to think. "Since you have serious friend issues let's start there. What was it? A fight, a murder, betrayal—"

Elaine moved quicker than he thought she was capable. She shouted something in Latin, incomprehensible in her rage and her ring and earrings glowed brightly, as electricity arched from her hands in jagged forks. Harry turned and vanished just as the blue bolts raced toward him. He apparated in time as the spot he once stood in was now smoking and charred black, and the smell of burnt ozone permeated the air. Elaine spun around surprised as Harry brought up his wand and hit her square in the chest with a full body bind. Her arms and legs stiffened and he waved cheekily as she tipped over. Her head hit the floor hard with a thud and he winced. That had to hurt.

Harry slowly moved into her line of sight, standing over her prone body. "Just for the record. You attacked me first. I wasn't going to hurt you or anything. A bloke has to get his jollies where he can you understand."

She made a choking noise in the back of her throat. It was between a growl and a muffled curse.

"Look," began Harry, shrugging. "How about I buy you a pint and we call it even? Actually you tracked me down, attacked me, so actually I think we're about square."

He moved a bit and looked her in the eyes. Her gray eyes were like the rolling clouds of a summer thunderstorm. They flashed at him threateningly and Harry knew that she wouldn't let this go anytime soon. There goes that thought of making an ally out of her. He was about to break his gaze when something with the force of a speeding train, slammed into his Occlumency barriers. He bucked back and impulsively reinforced his barriers, trying and failing to break away his gaze from Elaine's, which was proving impossible. It was as if his Occlumency had triggered an unbreakable connection between the force and himself, which he reasoned was coming from Elaine. Gritting his teeth, he lashed out mentally against the intruder. The force hammered again, as if spurred on by his barriers, and then simply washed over him like a tidal wave. That force rolled over him, mentally tearing at his mind. It wasn't after just his mind. The flood of foreign energy invaded his whole body, pouring through everything that made him what he was. It viewed the darker recesses of his psyche, and delved into his very soul.

His sense of reality tilted as the world he knew vanished and he looked down at Elaine. Just as she was viewing him, he could now see her in a different light. Shadows crawled along a ground covered entirely in an inky, black darkness. They were everywhere across this otherworldly scene. Except for one area where a shining pyramid rested radiating with an intense golden light. The shadows attempted to climb the pyramid and overtake it, but the light pulsed brilliantly and the shadows were pushed back by the gold radiance. At the top of the structure was non-other than Elaine sitting in a lotus position, her expression of upmost serenity.

She was a fighter, a loner, a caged bird that just wanted to burst free from her cage and fly away. She was trapped, stuck, but not forever. One day she would be free. She knew this and hoped for it day after day, praying that it would soon come. Temptation to stray from her chosen path was strong but she wouldn't give in. Not to no one. A small part of her took joy in helping people, but it was small. After all she had to help herself first. They couldn't find her. Not ever. If they did she was dead. Lurking behind her surface thoughts existed a terrible secret that haunted her every waking moment, a shame that she carried like a handprint over her heart. Something in the past that she had participated in, something she wished she could reach back into time itself to undo. It was an act that forced her into hiding, into a secret servitude to her in debtors.

Harry blinked and the overpowering force vanished as abruptly as it came, and he was able to wrest his gaze from Elaine's. He took a step back overwhelmed and out of breath.

"What was that?" he panted.

He looked at Elaine and the other woman was shaking on the floor, apparently free of the full body bind. Her eyes were open wide with stunned rapture.

Harry dropped to his knees, pining down her thrashing body by the shoulders. "Elaine!"

Her body went into spasms and her eyes lolled into the back of head. Her midsection bucked under him, and Harry held her down screaming her name. He brought his wand up to her head to stupefy her at point blank range, when suddenly she stilled.

"Elaine?" he asked carefully, studying the unmoving woman.

Her gray eyes rolled toward him, slow and glazed over. "A society at war. Torn. Then mended. Stars are bright. The dancing lights," she said rapidly without pause, taking no breath of air. "All that will happen, would happen, will not happen. Possibilities. Possibilities. Possibilities. Possibilities."

"Elaine?" he called again, shaking her shoulders, unnerved by the spout of information.

Her eyes began to clear till a spark of personality appeared in her eyes. "You…"

Harry jerked back. "Me? What did you see? What was that?"

Elaine slowly sat up with Harry's help and said tiredly, "Soulgaze. When you look into a wizard's eyes you see them for what they really are. It's a two way street. I saw your soul and you saw mine..."

She climbed to her feet unaided. Was his soul really that bad, that awful? He had seen some horrible things and did some unspeakable things, but surely looking at his soul wouldn't drive someone into brief insanity.

"Everyone experiences a soulgaze differently," she answered, seeing Harry's expression. "Some hear, some see symbolic representations of the true person, and others feel." She shook her head, eyes closed. "All my life I've never seen another person's soul and reacted like that."

Great. He didn't like to poke around his own head and now someone else had, and barely came away sane. "What did you see?"

She opened her eyes and they were shining with awe and a suspicious wetness. "Your soul…Its something more than… Your soul is beautiful." Elaine unexpectedly smiled blissfully, completely throwing him off. "Its beyond constraints, beyond time, it stretches so far past eternal… I saw your life and what you really are."

"And who am I really?" he asked neutrally, his face impassive.

Elaine didn't pause. "You're Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived." She peered at him speculatively. "Now you're a wild card. What you are…what you can do. You'll take everyone by surprise."

Harry shook his head. "Look, I still don't get what just happened. I'm no one's wild card. If you looked at my soul then you know that."

"Until you find a way home you'll need a teacher, someone to show you how things really work in our world," she said suggestively. "I'll be that person."

Harry quirked an eyebrow. It was exactly what he wanted from her and he didn't even have to ask. All it took was a peek into his soul and she was suddenly eager to please. Well, the eagerness did come after a brief slip of insanity. He didn't know what she was harping on about with his soul being extra shiny, but it boded further investigating. He needed all the leads he could get to understand why and how he came to be here. Having her around would also be amusing. She was easy to tease. A bit like Ron with how she easily she took offense to things. If anything he knew she would keep her word. Just as she looked at his soul, he had seen hers, and knew Elaine wouldn't screw him over. If things did get out of hand and she betrayed him, he would offer her to the White Council in a heartbeat.

"Seriously why do you want to help me?"

"Like I said you'll be a wild card," she replied bluntly, shrugging. "I've seen what you can do. And I want to be at your side when people realize that you aren't an ordinary wizard."

He wanted to try Legilimancy to see if she was telling the truth. But she said the soulgaze was a reflexive ability, and after the way it acted against his Occlumency he didn't want to attempt it. He mulled over her answer. It had a ring of truth and it felt honest. At least she didn't hold back when asked a straight up question. He wanted honesty and got it.

"Fine," agreed Harry, taking a step forward. "But I want to know everything you know about anything dealing with magic."

Elaine smirked. "Deal."

"You screw me over and I'll bring the rain," promised Harry, darkly.

She laughed. "I wouldn't respect you if you didn't."

They shook on it.

* * *

I appreciate the great reviews that people have dropped. Nice to hear from other Dresden fans, and potential fans. The plot is starting to move forward and in two more chapters we will be getting into the main events of Summer Knight. And of course Harry will meet Harry.


	9. Parable of the Prodigal: Part One

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter either. It belongs to its creator J.K. Rowling and probably Warner Bros. too. I'm not too sure about that. This piece of literature is simply the work of a humble fan. I also credit Jim Butcher for various themes, subjects, or references that I may use.

* * *

Author Notes: This is a Harry Potter crossover with the Dresden Files the book series. All my knowledge of the Dresden Files comes from the books. I've never seen the TV series. For the timeline that will be stated later. Thanks to the folks at DLP for help with editing.

* * *

**Awaken Sleeper.  
**Chapter Eight: Parable of the Prodigal – Part One  
by: Water Mage

Harry ran a hand over head momentarily surprised when he didn't encounter his long locks. He had never had his hair cut so short before in his life. His fingers brushed against the short length. He could use magic to make it longer, but it was oddly surreal and refreshing for his forehead to be displayed without the scar that haunted him his whole life. A bell rang in the distance breaking through his thoughts. Laughter and the sound of countless conversations filled the air, as the doors to the school building burst open letting loose a swarm of children. Harry leaned against an oak tree, blending in with the numerous adults waiting on the school grounds. No one looked twice at him so he reasoned he didn't look too out place.

Aiden was easy to spot. The five year old with the reddish brown hair walked slower than his classmates as they streamed from the building. Harry called his name and Aiden's whole face lit when he caught sight of him. He didn't take a moment to pause before he was running across the distance separating them. A bright smile that echoed the one Harry wore covered his face as he jumped into his older brother's open arms.

"Whoa!" said Harry, rubbing Aiden's back. "You're getting heavy, kiddo."

Aiden just grinned in answer.

He lowered the boy back to the ground releasing him. He looked Aiden over. Harry hadn't seen him since the night of his birthday. For good reason. Their father didn't want Harry anywhere near the house, and he was going to honor that request. James didn't want to see his face, and Morgan only knows when his anger would finally fade. It damn sure wouldn't be anytime soon. Three and a half weeks and counting.

A woman started to approach them. No doubt she was Aiden's kindergarten teacher wanting to know what he was doing with a stranger. Harry swished his wand, silently casting a low-level Muggle Repelling Charm. The protective charm settled over their immediate space with a dim snap. The woman's face went thoughtful and unsure as she suddenly remembered that she had another place to be.

Aiden rubbed his arms. Harry blinked in surprise at the goose bumps he could see on the younger boy's skin. His eyebrows furrowed as he looked around them in confusion. Could he feel the magic that enclosed them? He was too young to be sensitive to magic. But Aiden wasn't a normal little boy, magical or not. It was one of the reasons that Harry was here.

"You can feel that?" asked Harry, gesturing with his hand.

Frowning, Aiden nodded absently and rubbed at his forearms.

Interesting. Harry dropped his hand on Aiden's shoulder and softly asked, "You know you're very special right?"

He shrugged in answer that could have meant either yes or no.

Harry sighed. This would go so much better if the other boy would verbally respond. "Things are going to be different from now on, Aiden. I haven't been around much and that's not going to change anytime soon. But I will be there for you, okay?"

Aiden slowly nodded not quite understanding. Harry kneeled down so they were eye level.

"Mum and Dad don't know how special you are, but they will when you get older," said Harry, seriously. "But I want you to do something for me. Mum and Dad have been very sad lately. I need you to talk for them. It will make them the happiest people in the world. Please, Aiden can you do that for me?"

Indecision warred in those hazel eyes. Aiden turned his gaze toward the ground, thinking. Harry really did want to see his parents happy. And for them to hear Aiden finally talk would make it so. His mother had sounded so tired the last time he had spoken to her on the phone. The fighting with James was wearing them both out. Fighting that originated from Harry's revelation. If Aiden agreed he would be the light that eased the tension. Hopefully they would forget their troubles in their shared wonder and thankfulness. Harry was betting on it. Was he using his brother so his duplicity could take a backseat? Maybe. But the end result would be worth it all around. Steps had to be taken to unite their fractured family.

It felt like ages, but was only moments, when Aiden flicked his gaze up to look at Harry. The serious expression as always looked odd on a face so young. Aiden stepped forward and wrapped his arms around the still crouching Harry's mid section.

"Okay, Harry," came the answer, muffled against his shirt. "No more quiet now."

Harry let an honest and pleased smile settle across his face. "Thanks, Aiden." He gripped Aiden's chin and tilted his face up. "I may not be around but I'll always be watching out for you, little brother. If you ever need me I'll be there."

"Promise?" asked Aiden, looking at him with big hazel eyes.

Harry nodded, half smiling. "Promise."

He spotted a tall form stepping out from a familiar silver car. James Potter adjusted his suit jacket and scanned the crowd of children and adults. Harry frowned. Usually their mother picked up Aiden from school. This called for a change of plans. He couldn't let his father see him.

"There's Dad, Aiden," said Harry, pointing. "It's time to go home."

The next bit was tricky. Harry disillusioned himself just as he dispelled the repelling charm. Magic washed over him like a flood of cold water, just as the temporary ward ended. Aiden looked around, searching. Harry stepped back and leaned against the tree. When under the Disillusionment Charm a body took on the appearance of whatever was behind it. So even if someone were to look straight at him they would only see the bark of the oak tree. Aiden gave up looking and walked across the lawn to where his waving father waited.

Harry watched the scene ahead with mixed emotions. A small part felt bad for asking his brother to break his silence. He was obviously keeping it for a reason. That was only a small part. Most of him watched the scene with rapt attention, hope flaring deep within his chest. He didn't expect his family to come back together overnight, but this would be a step in that direction.

Aiden ran up to James and the older man scooped him up into his arms. In that brief moment, watching the smile Aiden put on their father's face made him more envious than he could ever recall being. Quickly he dismissed the feeling burying it back where it came from. He had a weakness for his family, he knew that. But there was no way he was going down that self pity route. He was not the same little kid anymore jealous of his best friend for having a large family who loved him.

James put Aiden down on the ground and Harry watched as the boy's mouth moved, speaking before his father for the very first time in his life. Harry didn't hear the words but he saw the reaction it garnered well enough. James' face went slack with shock as he stared at his youngest son. A loud bark of laughter echoed through the air, and teacher, student, parent, all turned their heads as James Potter threw his arms around Aiden, picking him up, and spinning him around and around in the air. Aiden's delighted cries joined his father's joyful laughter. If one were to take a picture and put it on a Hallmark card it would sell millions. Harry smiled wistfully. Maybe what he had done to his family would take a backseat, and they could eventually heal the breach he caused. Or at the least build a bridge over it.

Harry took one last look at the sight of his happy father and brother. He had done enough. He spun on his heel and apparated. He appeared in his hotel room at the W. Housekeeping had obviously been by. The bed was made and the curtains were parted letting in the warm sunlight, and presenting a view of downtown D.C. He shrugged off his clothes and made his way to the bathroom. Four minutes later found him under the hot spray of the high pressure shower head. The hotel was costing him a pretty penny, but the amenities more than made up for the cost. He couldn't stay here forever though. Eventually he had to start looking for a place, maybe a nice apartment or something.

The sudden sound of a loud slam jerked him from his thoughts, and he moved from under the shower spray. Harry tensed, still as a statue as he listened. He cut the water and stepped out of the shower, silently moving as he creped from the bathroom. Water dripped down his body, as he tip toed into the room beyond. He picked up his wand from where it rested on the table in the room's center. He peered around slowly. The room was empty. There were no shadows to hide within the well lit room.

He scanned the room with his wand held at ready, listening so intently that he could even hear his heartbeat. Another noise broke the still silence. Harry threw open the room door wand whipping through the air. A gray haired woman dropped her bags and screamed, loud and terrified. Harry opened his mouth trying to stammer out an apology over her screaming. She jerked the door behind her open, and disappeared into the room across from his. The echoing slam shook the walls. Harry closed the door and sighed.

_Merlin_. He was really becoming a paranoid bastard. The little voice in the back of his mind chided him that paranoia had saved him quite a few times in the past. True. He made his way back to the bathroom. The hair on the back of his neck stood up, and he felt eyes on him. He wasn't alone. Instead of entering the bathroom, he spun around. Elaine sat at the rectangular table with her boot clad feet propped up on the tabletop, looking as if she had been sitting there for some time. Her eyes lingered on his naked body, and her lips quirked into a saucy smirk.

"Hello, Harry," she greeted him, gray eyes twinkling. "Bad time?"

Harry adopted a brazen smile and took a step forward unabashed. "I was just in the shower. I see you let yourself in. They call that breaking and entering where I'm from."

She shrugged with a slow roll of her shoulders. "It's an electronic lock, and I'm a wizard."

"And most electronics have a habit of malfunctioning around wizards and magic," stated Harry, cocking his head. "Did I get that right?"

"Bingo," she said half smiling, her eyes glinting with mirth. "Are you going to change?"

If she was hoping to embarrass him she had another thing coming. Harry mirrored her shrug from a moment ago. "Why should I? You came here for a show, so who am I to deny you." He made a show of looking her up and down. "Although I wouldn't say no to an equal show."

"How would you like this slap?"she responded flatly, her smile dropping. "Full on or backhand?"

Harry smiled widely, showing teeth. "What's a little pleasure without pain?"

Elaine narrowed her eyes. "We can test the pain part."

"You're no fun," laughed Harry, taking pleasure in seeing her fume.

She really was too easy to wind up. He thought Ron had thin skin, but Elaine beat him in defensiveness. He saw anger management classes somewhere in her future. In the almost four weeks they had been meeting, he enjoyed every second of it. Her touchy feelings were always enough to bring a smile to his face. It added flair to their conversations. He conjured a fluffy white towel and wrapped it around his waist. As much as he liked to tease her, important bits of him were getting a little cold. He had his pride after all.

"Stars," sighed Elaine, shaking her head. "You make that look so easy. I still don't understand how you can do it. Creating objects from nothing is beyond any wizard I know of."

This was something they often did when they got together. They shared magical knowledge between each other. Elaine true to her word answered all his questions dealing with magic, and was teaching him the knowledge he needed to thrive in the magical side of this world.

"I still don't understand why you _can't_ do it," he said, looking momentarily perplexed. "Conjuration is just another aspect of transfiguration."

It was an expression that dominated his face frequently when they compared their two systems of magic. During their first week, after their soulgaze, they learned they both had very different ways of casting magic. Harry had been cautious at first, but relaxed as he got to know her better. He wasn't extremely forthcoming. Some things just weren't meant to be talked about casually. Dark spells that would make Lucius Malfoy orgasm remained hidden in the back of mind locked away tight, never to heard by another's ears.

"I wouldn't know where to begin trying to conjure something," she muttered thoughtfully, running a hand through her hair. "It's against the laws of physics and metaphysics."

Early on they learned that whatever spark or gene within Harry that lets him perform magic, that made him a wizard— wasn't the same ability that made Elaine a wizard. His wand was just a regular stick to her, which made sense with further thought. It was crafted for users who derived magic strictly from within them. Elaine, and wizards like her, took in the natural energy from life all around them, and used it to work their will.

Harry took a seat at the opposite end of the table. "You still haven't told me what brings you here unannounced. I thought I would see you later in the evening."

"I was in the area, so I figured I would tell you in person that I wouldn't be able to meet later."

Harry frowned. "Something come up? You've never cancelled before."

Elaine took her feet off the table and settled into the chair. "If you must know, yes something came up. I have business to handle."

"The normal kind or the magical kind of business?" he asked, curiously.

She hesitated for a fraction of a second before she answered, "The none of your business kind."

Harry caught her pause and grinned. "Its magic business and you know it," he retorted, smugly. "Cut the act. If you're doing something involving magic then I'm coming too. I'm bored anyway. It might be interesting. "

"No." She didn't hesitate with her reply this time.

Like he was going to take that for an answer. He shook his head, looking completely unapologetic. "I can be ready in a few minutes."

Elaine gritted her teeth. "I swear to God, Potter, if you so much as—"

"But you told me that anything that pertains to magic you would show me," he interrupted, too innocently. His face grew dark suddenly, and his smile took on a grim edge. "Are you a woman of your word or not? If you aren't then you can leave."

He waited. Would she leave? He was betting on her staying. After glimpsing his soul Elaine was the one to extend the olive branch. He originally reasoned that he would have had to be the one to make that move. Obviously there was something she saw that made him worth keeping him around. He didn't see why. After their soulgaze she had gone into a babbling stupor, briefly losing her grasp of sanity.

"Fine," she answered, begrudgingly.

Harry leaned forward, dripping water on the table. "Was that so hard?" he offered.

"Go get ready," she snapped, rolling her eyes.

Harry chuckled. He stood up and left to go get changed. He quickly got ready wondering what to expect. More than anything he was satisfied that his bet had played off. Just as Elaine had seen his soul, he had seen hers. He didn't go into a blubbering mess like she did, but he had gleaned enough to have surprising insight into the woman's character at times. And those times sometimes paid off.

He stepped back into the room and Elaine now sat on the edge of the table idly playing with a necklace around her neck. Harry caught a glimpse of a silver pentacle before she noticed him and tucked it inside her shirt. He filed that away for further investigation. Elaine was a complex puzzle, and he didn't think anyone knew what thoughts were behind those guarded gray eyes. Elaine stared at him thoughtfully as he neared her.

Harry crossed his arms and smirked. "You want to take a picture. Something to keep you going during those cold, lonely nights."

Elaine copied his smirk and replied equably, "I was just thinking that with your haircut and the dress pants, and nice shirt, you finally look your age."

He glanced down at what he was wearing. He had put on the dress pants because he ran out of laundry. Hence, the khaki slacks. The blue shirt was just lying around so he put it on, since he wanted to get dressed as quick as possible.

"Do you practice that attitude?" asked Harry, smothering a smile. "Or do you wake up that cranky? If so, I know the perfect solution. A good shagging—"

Elaine narrowed her eyes. "I wasn't joking about that slap earlier."

"Touchy," said Harry holding up his hands, not bothering hiding his smile this time.

She rolled her eyes and hopped off the table. Harry slipped his wand into his sleeve and followed after her. He kept a one sided conversation going from the elevator down to the street outside. She steadfastly ignored him and that just made him even more determined to break her demeanor. They climbed into one of the waiting taxis that idled in front of the building.

"Will you shut up!" hissed Elaine through clenched teeth, after rattling off some directions to the cab driver.

Harry feigned surprised, and looked down at his hands in wonder. "So I do exist! I was beginning to wonder."

Elaine shook her head and faced the window watching the passing scenery. "Does this mean you'll stop being so annoying?"

"And here I thought you were warming up to me," said Harry, amused. He looked around the unfamiliar street the cab drove down. "Where are we going anyway?"

"We're going to go see a guy about a thing," she replied vaguely.

"Could you possibly be any more cryptic," Harry drawled.

Elaine turned to him, smirking triumphantly. "Possibly." She tapped a finger against her chin. "Gee, I wonder how long I can drag this out. How much would it take to annoy you, hmm?"

"Okay, you got me," admitted Harry, rubbing the back of his neck and turning away. "Seriously, I'll rein it in for awhile. Now what's going on?"

"A guy took something that doesn't belong to him," she said after a moment's pause, no doubt savoring her minor victory. "I'm going to get it back."

Harry looked at her dubiously. "That's it?"

Elaine nodded. He was about to make a smart remark, but closed his mouth as his brain caught up with his mouth. This didn't sound like a run of the mill errand. He wanted to refute the magical nature of this whole endeavor, but he considered her wording. Elaine didn't say something belonging to _her _was stolen. Her wording was carefully blank of any claim of ownership. So who exactly was she getting the stolen item for and why?

"So," began Harry, casually. He looked out his window, but kept his eye on her reflection. "Any reason why you're doing someone else's dirty work?"

He watched her head snap toward his and the surprise showed clearly in her eyes. A memory tugged at his thoughts. It was there fluttering on the edge. Then with startling clarity he remembered. During their soulgaze, Elaine had been chained, shackled into the service of another. What favor could they have possibly done her for the price of her servitude?

"I'm right aren't I?" Harry prodded turning to her.

The cab driver coughed, and they both realized that they weren't alone. He subtly moved his arm from the driver's sight. His wand slid from his sleeve and with a sharp left flick, and a whispered word, the back of the cab was encased in an intangible barrier, as the Muffliato Charm took effect muffling their conversation from prying ears.

"What was that?" asked Elaine with a puzzled frown.

Harry tucked his wand back into his sleeve. "It's a privacy spell. We'll be able to talk without the driver hearing us. Our conversation will just be a muffled buzzing to his ears."

Elaine's eyebrows rose, astonished. "I learned some things from you in the soulgaze, but I'm still constantly surprised by what you can do."

"Uh uh," said Harry, wagging his finger at her. "Let's get back on topic. I asked you a question." He leaned back and crossed his arms.

Elaine tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, and regarded him coolly. "You really need to apply for your Scooby Doo license. What are you a junior sleuth in your spare time?"

"I get by," he said evasively, shrugging. "Stop dodging the question."

She sighed. "Yes, I'm doing this for someone else."

"The same someone who you are indebt to?" he asked, but it came it out as more like a statement.

Elaine tensed suddenly as surprise flashed in her eyes. "How did you–" She cut off, realization dawning over her features. She narrowed her eyes and ground out, "What did you see during the soulgaze?"

"I saw enough to know that there are things you keep from me. You have secrets, and those secrets are protecting you," he said seriously, gazing at her stoic face that betrayed no emotion.

Her gaze was hard, searching, as she mentally weighed him with those intense gray eyes. A long moment passed. Elaine opened her mouth, and then closed it as the cab came to a sudden halt. The driver turned around and Harry cancelled the spell around them.

"We're here," barked out the cab driver. He jerked a thumb at the meter glowing on the dashboard. "That'll be thirty nine even."

Elaine shoved some bills in his hand and stepped out of the cab with Harry right behind her. A row of rundown looking buildings dominated the rather sad looking block. They definitely weren't in the nice part of town anymore. People walked down the sidewalks quickly as if they had any other place rather than here to be. Harry looked at Elaine.

"Please tell me this isn't a drug deal," he muttered, glancing at a woman in fishnets and heeled boots make her way across the street and into a waiting car.

"And if it was?" questioned Elaine, quirking an eyebrow.

"Then I need to make sure the dealer has change for a hundred," said Harry flatly.

She made a noise that might have been a laugh or a cough. Harry would like to think it was the former. They walked into a building with a spray painted glyph marring its steel door. Harry was itching to draw his wand as they navigated through an empty space of what used to be a bar, but looked like it had gone to seed and abandoned.

"Am I missing something?" Harry groused, stepping over a hole in the floor. "No one's here."

They came to a stop at a door and Elaine placed a finger against her lips signaling for him to stay silent. She didn't have to tell him twice. He closed his mouth and followed her lead. Softly she laid her palm against the door and closed her eyes. Harry had the unexpected feeling that she was becoming aware of what was beyond the door. Then like some cop straight out of police academy, Elaine reared back her foot and kicked the door in. She stepped into the room and Harry stared at the sight of one startled man, and two large looming men dressed in black suits. They peered at them behind thick black sunglasses.

Elaine smiled brightly. "Hi. I'm here for something that was stolen." She looked at the two men who took a step forward. Her hand came up and the slave bracelet on her wrist glittered brightly, and green light played in a tiny current along her hand that was splayed open, and pointing at them. "Don't take another step or they'll be mopping you up from the walls."

The taller of the two men reached for the inside of his jacket. Harry drew his wand and a hole was blasted in the wall before anyone realized he had moved. In that moment time itself seemed to stop as they all stared at Harry in shock.

Harry's face was blank as he trained his wand on the men. "Please, try that again. Please."

"I think that's your cue to leave boys," suggested Elaine, smirking.

Harry stepped to the side and kept a cautious eye on the men as they made their exit. That left only one guy left. The man was maybe mid thirties. He was short, all of five-foot six at the max, stocky, and his dark brown eyes kept darting from them to the door.

Elaine smiled humorlessly at the nervous older man. "Hello, Rodger. I got a tip that you would be here. I've been looking for you."

"I haven't done anything!" he denied hastily, taking a step backward.

Elaine cocked her head. "I didn't say you did." She took a step forward. "But we both know you did. You have something that doesn't belong to you, and I want it back."

Like a switch being turned on, Rodger abruptly straightened standing ramrod straight, and all the nervousness and fear he displayed a second ago was gone. Harry blinked. Oh he was good. He actually bought his act.

"So she sent her pet wizard after me, did she?" Rodger laughed derisively. "I figured she would have at least sent the knight."

"Please," shot back Elaine. "Ronald has more important things to do then come after the likes of you."

Rodger's contempt filled gaze flicked to Harry. "What's this, bring the boyfriend to work day?"

"She's not my girl," retorted Harry. "If I were you I would be wondering a little more about your safety instead of who my friend is shacking up with."

Elaine didn't take her eyes off of Rodger. "Where's the scepter?"

"That's for me to know and—"

"I think that might be it near his foot," interjected Harry, pointing to the gray briefcase propped up against the wall right beside Rodger.

"You were the kid who could never color inside the lines, huh Roger?" laughed Elaine. "I'll be taking the scepter."

Rodger stared her down. "Over my dead body."

"So be it," muttered Elaine. "Harry, wait outside."

His reply was instantaneous. "Screw that!"

"You better listen to your girlfriend, boy," taunted Rodger.

Elaine noticed Harry's thunderous expression. "Harry, please. This business doesn't concern you. This is between him and me. Your probably shouldn't even be here."

"Okay," he relented with a sigh after a long pause. He glared at Rodger who waved at him cheekily. "I'll be right outside."

Elaine nodded. "If I need you I'll call."

Harry left the room and Elaine closed it behind him. He was left standing alone with his thoughts. He had to strain his ears to hear the muffled voices of the conversation going on inside. He clenched his fist frustrated. Being left out of the action was not how these situations usually worked. What if she got in over her head?

Helping her was moot anyway. He was out here and she was in there. And did Elaine really need help? From what he had gathered in the brief time he had known her the woman could more than handle herself. He hadn't seen her really let loose, but he knew enough to know the wizards in this world used the forces of energy given form to work magic. Evocation and Thaumaturgy Elaine had called the two most common practices. He remembered them by Evocation equals explosive magic, and Thaumaturgy takes time and takes care to cast, the three t's.

There was a growl that sounded distinctly male followed by a feminine shout. White light seeped from the cracks in the doorframe immediately trailed by a flare of ghastly green light. The sound of crashing furniture and slamming objects tagged along after the lightshow. Harry tensed ready to intervene in any moment. His hand twitched as he restrained himself from throwing open the door.

"Can't believe I have to stay out here," he muttered aloud. "What am I the bloody doorman?"

This scepter had to be damn important for all this fuss. Now he knew that whoever Elaine was doing this for, whoever owned her was a she. Harry heard another dim shout and it took him a moment to realize that this shout was deeper and very different from either Rodger or Elaine. He sprung forward and burst through the door. His wand was out and crimson light blazed on its tip as his magic surged forth.

A ray of golden illumination flooded his sight and he reflexively closed his eyes as the room was bathed in light. There was a strangled scream and then a heavy crash. Harry forced his eyes open blinking back the spots that danced in his vision. Elaine's clothes looked a little rumpled but she looked alright. Rodger lay unmoving against the wall, still and unconscious. A gash on his forehead oozed blood. Standing above him was a new person. This man had white hair cut neat and conservative. He wore a pair of slacks and a tweed jacket. He turned his head and Harry was pinned by a pair of wise brown eyes.

"What in the bloody hell just happened?" demanded Harry.

The man looked at Harry, intrigued. "Is this the Harry you spoke of?"

"Yes," nodded Elaine, she bent over and picked up the briefcase. "Why did you come, Ronald? I thought you were busy with the Queen."

"Right as I finished my business with her mother our Lady requested that I help you," he answered. "It's my job to deal with traitorous scum like him anyway." He glared darkly at Rodger. "I was told to tell you to return to the Lady's court with the scepter." He looked directly at Harry. "She also requested that you bring your friend."

Elaine snuck a quick look at a baffled Harry. "Why?"

Ronald shrugged. "You know as well as I that the Sidhe need little reason behind any of their actions."

Harry cleared his throat loudly. "What are you two talking about?" he demanded. "What's with all the talk of royalty? Who are you and how did you even get in here?"

The old man laughed. "Oh, he has fire this one. My name is Ronald Reuel. I'm the Summer Knight. Champion to the three Queens of Summer, rulers of the Seelie faeries," he said imperiously, giving a little bow of his head.

"Ronald!" hissed Elaine, angrily. "He doesn't know."

"Anything? You haven't told him a thing?" questioned Ronald, frowning. He shook his head and looked at Elaine solemnly. "Well you better give him a crash course. You two have a meeting with the Summer Lady, and you know as well I that there is no escaping once one of the fae has an eye on you. She _will_ meet him. I would do it sooner rather than later."

Harry looked at them with rising amounts of anger and irritation. "I'll start cursing you both if someone doesn't explain."

Elaine buried her hand in her long brown hair, pulling at the roots in aggravation. "I really didn't want to bring you deep into this." She took a deep breath and muttered a couple of swear words. "Okay, it's like this. There is a realm called the Nevernever that is basically a world of spirit. Nasty creatures and all sorts of things live there. The parts closest to our world are called Faerie and are ruled by the two courts of Summer and Winter. Ronald here is the Knight of Summer. It's a big job. Comes with a lot of power. And he's been at it a long time."

"Why Elaine is that respect I hear in your voice?" teased Ronald.

She rolled her eyes, but her small smile betrayed her. "The Sidhe courts have three Queens. The Queen Who Was – the Mother, the Queen Who Is – who is just the Queen, and the Queen Who Is to Come is called the Lady."

The conversation from earlier clicked in his mind and Harry put the pieces together on his own. Once he had this information. It was basically like fill in the blank and everything became suddenly clear in his mind.

"You work for the Summer Court," guessed Harry. "I guess this guy stole the scepter from… the Summer Lady, if I remember correctly."

Ronald nodded. "He's quick."

"And now the Summer Lady wants to meet with me," pondered Harry, thoughtfully. He turned to Elaine. "Do you think I should?"

Elaine sighed. "I think it would be a good idea to see what she wants. The Sidhe are cunning, and if she wants to see you its better to get it over with before they get crafty and try and trick you into a meeting. And getting tricked by one of the fae never turns out well."

He thought it over. It sounded like sound advice. If things did go south he had his wand and he could apparate. "I don't want to keep the Lady waiting."

"Are you sure?" asked Elaine.

Harry shrugged. "Mostly."

"Okay then," she replied softly. What happened next was like something from some dream or fantasy. Elaine grabbed at the air and whispered, "_Aparturum."_

She dragged her hands down and a great rip appeared in the air, as if she was tearing apart paper. But she was in fact tearing reality. Its edges were shimmering silver, and through the slit in space was a green forest and drifting sounds. Harry stared at the vertical rip in the air in wonder.

"You can just go into this Nevernever place just like that?" he asked, staring.

Elaine nodded. "If you have the magic and know the right spells then yeah."

"And we just step through..." said Harry, disbelief thick in his voice.

Elaine plunged into the shimmer and appeared on the other side. It looked easy enough. Didn't mean he was all gung ho in going through with it. The first and only time he went into an unknown world he had gotten stuck, and couldn't go home. He was still here, and now was about to go into even more foreign land.

Ronald noticed his deliberation. "Don't worry. Just remember the Sidhe aren't like us humans. They're a dangerous folk, and the nobles of the faeries. Keep on your toes kid. Don't take any offered food or drink. You'll be going down a slippery slope after that."

"That isn't the best endorsement," muttered Harry, dryly.

Ronald shrugged. "It's a wonderful place and they're a beautiful people, but they aren't human. Always remember that. Now you better hurry before Elaine's pathway closes. It's almost impossible to open a pathway into the same place into the Nevernever. Land is always changing."

Harry nodded and took the advice to heart. He stepped through the hole in reality and into the Nevernever. A cool wind brushed against him, filled with a quiet energy that played along his skin, as he moved from one world to the next. The rip closed behind him and he gazed around the new world he now stood on. A grassy field stretched ahead with a swift stream cutting before a line of rolling hills with gentle slopes. On his left was a climbing forest with impossibly tall trees with smooth silver barks, and upswept boughs holding pale green leaves that glinted gold underneath.

"The stars," Harry murmured, staring up at the glittering jewels in the sky. Instead of being silver they were a myriad of colors set against deep velvet night.

A soft hand touched his elbow and Elaine smiled knowingly. "It's beautiful. These are the lands controlled by Summer. Come on. This way. The Summer Lady's court is through the woods."

He walked at her side as they stepped through the trees. "So what's her name or do I call her the Summer Lady?"

Elaine chuckled. "Sorry. Her name is Aurora."

Strange noises filled the woods; alien noises completely were unlike any on Earth. Most of the sounds were haunting and made his hairs stand up, and others were melodic and soothing to his soul. They came upon a stream that passed through the forest. Elaine led them over a bridge and they walked down a well worn path that bordered a wall.

"There's the gate," she pointed out.

A tall and imposing man, clothed in gleaming armor and a massive helm stood before the gate, spear in hand. All Harry could see through the slits of the helm were a pair of dark amber eyes. "Hold!" he boomed.

Elaine bowed her head. "It's me, Orin. The password is: Khanite Falls."

Orin inclined his head and in his deep voice replied, "Enter. Welcome back to Solaria Garden, Elaine."

The guard moved aside and they entered through the gates that swung open on their own. They walked into a great glade with a pool in its center. Motes of light, faeries, played amongst the water's surface. Flowers of lilies, roses, and orchards grew all around this garden. People walked about appearing and disappearing through the trees beyond. They weren't people in the human sense. He saw a few centaurs and even satyr, their lower animal bodies standing out amidst the more human seeming other fae. A young girl ran by them with a bow in hand and a quiver tied behind her back. Harry caught a flash of bright green hair before she ducked through a wooden arch and out of sight.

"She's probably at court," said Elaine thoughtfully. "Come on."

Harry walked with her as they entered through the arch the girl ran through. Trees ran in parallel lines and men and woman mingled together in a rectangular clearing that reminded him of a hall, even though it was outdoors. The men were clothed in trousers and shirts, and the woman wore short summer dresses. Beautiful didn't come close to describe the beings. Their skin practically glowed and their pale hair shined under the globes of light that hovered above. They were hypnotically elegant and he had to tear his eyes off them, and blink quickly to regain focus.

"These are the Sidhe I'm guessing?" asked Harry.

Elaine nodded. "Bingo."

A man broke away from a trio of giggling women, who watched Elaine and Harry like predators watching prey. Which sounded about right. The man smiled at Elaine and Harry noticed his eyes were blue like the summer sky, and a vertical slit existed in the irises, like a feline. He looked closer and noticed that others had similar feline like eyes.

"Lord Talos," greeted Elaine, nodding respectfully.

He smiled. "Hello, Elaine. Ah, I see you got the message that she requested to meet your friend as well." He turned to Harry. "I am Talos, Lord Marshal of the Summer Court."

So that meant he was pretty important. "Well nice to meet you," replied Harry. "My name's Harry."

"Do you have the scepter, Elaine?" asked Talos.

Elaine held up the briefcase and presented it to the Sidhe lord. "Got it. Where's Aurora?"

"Ah, here she comes now," said Talos, taking the briefcase from Elaine and looking off.

A murmur swept through the crowd. The assembled Sidhe smiled as their lady passed through their ranks. A moment later he could see why they smiled. The Lady of the Summer Court radiance put her subjects to shame. Their Sidhe beauty was but a dim echo next to hers. Her features were perfect…and familiar. Her vivid, vertically slitted green eyes and Sidhe white hair had been different when they first met. He knew her like he knew the back of his hand. He had worshipped that body like a temple. He could never forget her writhed form beneath his or her stunning face twisted in pleasure. She knew it too. Her eyes didn't leave his as she approached them.

"Aurora," smiled Elaine, once the woman joined them. "I've brought the scepter."

"Thank you, Elaine," she said, not taking her inhuman eyes off Harry. Her lovely face was calm as she smiled softly at the conflicted wizard. "Hello, Harry. It's good to see you again."

Harry didn't know what to feel. Shock was the strongest. It filled every pore of his body. He shook his head, disbelieving.

"It's been awhile, Aurora," he said. "I'm guessing Dawn was never your real name."

* * *

If you have no clue as to how Harry and Aurora know each other go back and read the beginning of the last chapter again. Then it will make more sense. The next chapter will be the last one to be set pre-Summer Knight.


	10. Parable of the Prodigal: Part Two

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter either. It belongs to its creator J.K. Rowling and probably Warner Bros. too. I'm not too sure about that. This piece of literature is simply the work of a humble fan. I also credit Jim Butcher for various themes, subjects, or references that I may use.

* * *

Author Notes: This is a Harry Potter crossover with the Dresden Files the book series. All my knowledge of the Dresden Files comes from the books. I've never seen the TV series. For the timeline that will be stated later. Thanks to the folks at DLP for help with editing.

* * *

**Awaken Sleeper.  
**Chapter Nine: Parable of the Prodigal – Part Two  
by: Water Mage

Time seemed to grind to a halt as Harry's last words hung in the air like the echoing resonance of a gong. Tension so powerful and almost tangible appeared in a sudden force taking those witnessed to the meeting by surprise. Talos and Elaine's eyes widened as the full weight and meaning of Harry's words sank in.

"You two know each other?" asked Elaine, shocked.

Harry nodded curtly, not taking his stare from those glittering green eyes. "She went by a different name last we met… Dawn here, sorry _Aurora,_" he drawled, his lips twisting into a harsh smirk. "Oh! Aurora is Latin for Dawn… I see now. Cute."

"But how do you know each other?" demanded Elaine, her shock turning into suspicion, as she trained her gaze on the Summer Lady.

"We shagged," stated Harry bluntly, interrupting Aurora who had opened her mouth to answer.

Aurora turned those feline eyes on him, her expression warmer than the reproachful stare Talos trained at him for speaking ill of his lady. Harry ignored Summer's Lord Marshall, focusing his ire on the woman before him. He ran through the events in his mind, racking his thoughts for all details, picking apart their conversations, and weighing his responses. Trickery was a faes _modus operandi_ and their default setting. It was one fairytale trait the muggles got right. Nothing pinged against his radar. They hadn't had a conversation where a bargain was struck whether directly or indirectly. He was sure of it.

She closed her eyes for a moment, and then looked at him concerned. "I can see you are angry, Harry."

"What gave you that idea?" he shot back caustically.

Talos drew himself up staring down at Harry with eyes that were eerily empty, earlier warmth gone. "You will watch your tongue in the presence of the Lady of Summer."

"She has heard and felt my tongue do more than you can imagine," Harry snapped, turning his rising anger on the Lord Marshall.

"Peace, Talos," muttered Aurora, laying a hand on the taller Sidhe's arm. "Leave us for a moment. I much desire to speak with him alone." She looked at Elaine too when she said this.

No. That wasn't going to work for him.

"Elaine stays," said Harry.

He had no desire to be alone with her. Who knows what glamour the faerie might work on him or what other method she could employ to snare him, if that was her game. He wasn't sure what angle she was trying to play. Elaine looked surprised at his request, but Aurora merely nodded her head agreeing to his appeal.

Talos of course didn't leave without giving Harry a disapproving frown that he responded in turn by glaring coldly . He was in no mood to deal with some faerie lord who had a beef with him because he was breaking protocol by being too familiar with the Summer Lady.

"You have questions," said Aurora, sighing.

Her rose red lips, penetrating green eyes, and snowy white hair were an exotic contrast to her human seeming and Harry had to begrudgingly admit that this form appealed more to him. He mentally slapped himself and blinked hard. Veela charm was a dangerous ability, but it lacked the subtle influence that Sidhe radiance exuded upon the psyche. She wasn't pushing any faerie glamour on him to make him feel this way. It was her natural beauty and that worried him. What would happen if she did throw glamour at him?

"Why?" was what Harry started off with without further detail. It wasn't needed.

Aurora lifted her chin haughtily. "I need not answer myself to you. Know that I do this because I feel you deserve some truths and to build bridges between you and I."

Bridges? What was she talking about? He knew there was some ulterior motive for summoning him here to the Nevernever. Could this be the answer?

"I first learned of you from Elaine," began Aurora, nodding to Elaine who listened with a neutral expression. "Weeks ago she came here, speaking of a wizard who may have told of her existence to the White Council. You know of the event?"

Harry nodded slowly. How could he forget? It wasn't everyday the White Council came blazing into town. It wasn't everyday he even spoke to a member, especially someone a part of the Senior Council. The stern, judging gaze of Martha Liberty wouldn't leave his memory anytime soon. Elaine had literally vanished right as the Council came walking into the bar. She must have come back here and suspecting the worse spilled her guts to the Faerie Queen. Was Elaine really that terrified of the Council that she had instantly gone running to her masters for protection? _Merlin's Might_. What awful deed could she have committed to warrant such fear? She had to have broken one of the Seven Laws, that was obvious, but which one, or _ones_.

Harry tipped his head slightly in acknowledgement. "I remember. So what? You decided to do a little reconnaissance, looking to take me out for blabbing? What are you queen, assassin, and spy all rolled into one?"

"I'm not above stepping into the shoes of others if it's knowledge that I seek to gain," she responded coolly.

A raised eyebrow lifted at her remark, and Harry replied with a tiny smirk. "If I recall we didn't do much talking."

Aurora laughed, light and melodiously. It was like the sound of twinkling bells and just as pleasant. "No," she answered, eerie green eyes surprisingly alight with humor. "We didn't, did we?" She smiled, warmly. "I didn't gain the knowledge I sought after. You proved quite a distraction."

Well if she was trying to fan his ego, she was doing a good job of it. "Why didn't I see you again? The next day…" He trailed off, a memory striking him like a sledgehammer. He spun around, turning a narrowed eye stare on Elaine. "You! I met you the next day. Was that tracking spell excuse a lie? Are you her secret spy?"

"I told you the truth, I swear," replied Elaine, frowning. She jerked her head at Aurora. "I had no idea you two even knew each other."

Aurora folded her hands in front of her, still looking picture perfect and every bit as serene as someone of her station would be. Harry considered Elaine's words and he believed her. She had looked every bit as stunned as he when Aurora had appeared. So that meant…

"The next day Elaine and I soulgazed," he muttered thoughtfully, thinking aloud. He watched her next expression to see if he was right. "I didn't see you again because you knew from Elaine that I hadn't sold her out." One look into her gentle eyes was all the confirmation he needed to know that he was right. "So what's this all about then? Why am I even here?"

"I saw something in you then, and now I know without doubt that you are someone worth having close," she said silkily.

Harry chanced a glance at Elaine and he knew at a glance that she hadn't told his secret. He needed to keep the fact that he was from another world a secret till he got a grasp of what he was stepping into, magically speaking of course. What did she know exactly?

Aurora waved a dismissive hand at Elaine. "Your friend has not betrayed you. I truly don't know what you are, but it's something…different, powerful. Like the power of Summer that fills my body, a power unlike any I've felt before hovers within you."

Harry kept his face carefully blank, showing neither surprise nor confusion. He was going to play all his cards close to his chest as much as possible. Did she speak the truth? Elaine had once commented on her skin tingling when he had touched her, but could Aurora, with the power of Summer, see the true well of his magic that differed from the wizards of this world. That might pose a problem. If she could see it then so could others.

"Your point?" asked Harry with an edge to his voice.

Elaine laid a warning hand on his arm and he held his tongue. Right. It might be best to not make the ruler of this domain too mad. Who knows what power she had over this realm that was neither wholly of earth or the world beyond. Although Aurora didn't appear too bothered by his caustic manner. He was beginning to doubt anything fazed her, but he knew that was untrue. Elaine looked genuinely worried when she dropped her hand on his forearm. It wasn't an, _oh God, stop being rude _face, it was more along the lines of _do you have a death wish _face.

"What you are is something more than a common wizard," stated Aurora, looking as if she was appraising him under a microscope. "The very air of the Nevernever around you hums like those connected to its lands, a trait that no wizard besides the Gatekeeper can lay claim to."

Harry crossed his arms and got right to the point. "So what do you want? If it's my magic then you aren't getting it."

"I was offering more of an alliance."

Go to hell was instantly on his lips. Did she really think he was going to agree to her proposition? He opened his mouth and then just as quickly closed it. Harry paused and eyed the gathered Sidhe congregated in this hall like wooden glade. These people weren't human. But they were powerful. They had kept Elaine hidden from the most powerful wizarding body on Earth for years. He wasn't interested in becoming a minion of the Summer Court, but the truth was he _did_ need allies. Elaine was teaching him the ways of magic in this world, but he needed other connections. Connections that had access to knowledge not so common or widely known, knowledge that could help him find a way home.

Aurora stepped closer and he was instantly hit with the fragrance of fresh flowers and something sweet. He narrowed his eyes. "If you really want me to consider this then stop pushing glamour on me."

"I'm doing no such thing," Aurora denied, cocking her head. "You have my word."

Right. He was never that trustworthy. "What would an 'alliance' between us consist of?"

"I will come to your aide and you shall come to mine if I ever want for it."

Harry weighed her words. He chanced a glance at Elaine to gage her reaction to the proposal. The older woman's face was blank. He didn't know what to make of it. Or maybe he did. It was unwise to make a deal with the fae. The Summer Knight had warned him of it before he even stepped forth into the Nevernever, but why did he feel like this deal wasn't the worse thing that could happen. It was something that Aurora said. She didn't know what to make of his power. He was unlike any wizard ever encountered. That was his trump card.

"Say I consider an alliance," began Harry slowly, matching her judging gaze. "there would have to be some conditions. I won't kill for you, you can't have my soul or anyone I care about, and you're not getting any of my unborn children. I'll scratch your back and you scratch mine. Pull something I'm not fine with and we call the whole deal off."

"Your terms are tolerable," she consented with a nod. "I have a stipulation of my own. If you agree to our alliance, I would ask that you duel one of my champions before all of my court. I want to see if you are indeed someone I can call on for a task."

Harry smirked at her. "It will also have the effect of your court seeing how powerful I am."

Aurora laughed softly. "I see that you have some inkling of court politics."

He looked around the glade again taking in the surreal scenery and inhuman creatures that moved with animal like grace, as they mingled amongst each other, their bodies practically glowing under the light above. These Sidhe were beautiful, deadly, exotic, and soulless. No matter how human they acted or appeared, they simply weren't. He found his stare falling on Aurora. Her pale hair fell in soft waves, a shade lighter than the cream dress she wore like an angel, and her cat like eyes were impossible not to fall into. He made a decision. No matter how powerful an alley she might make, she would not be one to trust outright.

"I think an alliance would be very beneficial," said Harry, watching as her eyes shined with a pleased glint. "I accept."

In the end it wasn't about trust. It was about power.

"Excellent," she smiled widely, clapping her hands. "I'm glad that you agree. In a few minutes we shall make it official."

She turned and walked away. For the first time Harry noticed a raised dais and on it sat a throne made entirely of twisting wood that gleamed and shone like bronze. At the throne was four handmaidens garbed in azure silk sashes and their long hair was twisted back in identical thick braids. As Aurora sat down they each fell to their knees into a sitting position at both sides of the throne.

Elaine stepped beside him, her long bangs falling into her eyes and shadowing their emotion. "You have no idea what your getting into, Harry."

"I have some idea," he said, shrugging. "Boy has power and manipulative girl wants power on her side. Boy wants girl's resources on his side. If girl screws boy over then boy will unleash power. Sounds about right, huh?"

She shook her head, and her eyes flashed with irritation. "Don't do that. Don't make light of it. The Winter Court will ruthlessly stab you in the heart and have no care. The Summer Court will smile and be friendly, and that smile will never drop as they take a knife and stab you in the back."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "I'm a big boy, Elaine. You should know better than anyone that I can more than handle myself. Or are you the only one allowed to bargain with the fae?"

"It's more than a bargain," snapped Elaine with a sudden anger that startled him. "It's a debt. That only builds with the passing of time."

Harry froze surprised at the emotion pouring off her. "Are you ever going to tell me about it?"

Elaine's anger seemed to collapse in on itself suddenly, her shoulders slumping heavily. She ran a hand through her hair looking vaguely pale and sick at the thought of confessing. For a second Harry was going to take back his request, but stopped as the woman peered at him speculatively, wheels of thought turning in her thoughtful stare.

"I-I think I will tell you," she said slowly, as if testing the words on her tongue.

Without notice a single trumpet sang out with a clear ringing note. The fanfare caught the attention of the court and all conversation stilled as the trumpet blower signaled the convening of the gathering. All eyes were drawn to the throne where Aurora sat with a golden scepter, inlaid with glittering diamonds, and topped with a large ruby. Was it the same scepter that Rodger had stolen and tried to steal? He pushed the question to the back of his mind. There were more important matters that deserved precedence.

"All hail the glorious dawn, Aurora, Lady of Summer," the trumpeter announced. "May the light of summer shine its smile upon us all."

The faeries as one tipped their heads in reverence and respect. Harry didn't bother. Elaine didn't either, so he didn't feel too alone. The nobles watched with rapt attention as Aurora rose from her throne, her regal bearing enough to quell all into silence.

"May I present my new ally, Wizard Harry Potter. Please come forward," said Aurora, smiling warmly. She held out her hand to him.

No need to put him on the spot or anything. Harry stepped forward to a smattering of applause from the watching nobles. He could feel dozens of eyes on him, sharp as a falcon's, as he parted the crowd. He stepped up to her dais but didn't climb up. Aurora extended her hand and Harry took it, and she began to descend the dais.

"Lord Talos, come forth at thy lady's call," she commanded.

The Lord Marshall stepped out from the crowd that parted like the sea before him. Instead of the elaborate robes and tunics the other male Sidhe wore, the faerie lord was clothed in a dark gold mail and he carried a sword at his side. It was a rapier, long, thin, and straight-bladed. His white hair fell forward as he snapped his arms to his side and executed a stiff bow before the Summer Lady.

"My wizard ally has agreed to please me in a display of skill," said Aurora. "What better way to settle this matter than a duel between my new ally, Wizard Potter, and my champion, Lord Talos. They shall go until first blood, and we will see who is the better fighter: wizard or sidhe?"

They turned their heads simultaneously to scrutinize the other. He almost missed it, but he could detect the disesteem Talos had for him behind those feline like eyes, that were the color of the thunder streaking across the sky. Someone was obviously still sore from their conversation earlier. And sure enough the Faerie lord didn't fail Harry's assessment.

"My lady," spoke up Talos, respectfully. "I beg your pardon, but I must say that perhaps it would be a truer test of ability if we were to fight a Lion's Crowning. It would surely provide better pleasure than simply seeing my blade become tipped scarlet as I claim victory."

Harry froze at the thinly veiled insult, and slowly turned toward him. "You obviously don't know my record."

"Then you would find a Lion's Crowning sufficient, wizard?" asked Talos, his rich tone just as stoic as his facial expression.

"Pretend I don't know what you're talking about," replied Harry, staring at him with narrowed eyes. The cool disdain of the lord was rubbing him the wrong way. "What is a Lion's Crowning and will it let me kick your ass up and down these woods?"

A myriad of chortles sounded behind them from the crowd of watching Sidhe. Harry smirked as the Lord Marshall visibly looked mildly annoyed at the echoing chuckles, breaking his detached calm that he up till then radiated.

"A Lion's Crowning is a battle to submission," answered Aurora. If she disapproved of Talos she didn't show it. "Victory is claimed by an opponent yielding or until they are unfit to fight."

Harry grinned savagely at Talos. "So get him to say uncle or beat him till he can't stand. I think I like the sound of that."

"Do you agree to the Lion's Crowning?" asked Aurora to Harry, who nodded. "Your choice of weapons?"

Harry twirled his wand between his fingers. "He can choose whatever he wants. All I need is my magic."

Talos placed a hand on the curving hilt of his rapier. "Dawn Bringer is more than a match for a wizard with a stick."

"Bigger than the stick shoved up your ass," muttered Harry non-too quietly.

Talos shook his head mildly disappointed with himself. "I think I will enjoy this far too much."

"There will be plenty of time to settle your animosity once we begin," chided Aurora, her smile fading as she grew serious. "Now retire and prepare yourselves. We shall have a Lion's Crowning this day."

The very air thrummed with anticipation and it was impossible to ignore the excited chattering that erupted, filling the woods. Elaine appeared at his side and tugging at his arm dragged him off to a secluded spot beside a sculpture of a praying maiden.

"A Lion's Crowning?" Elaine said baffled, "We haven't even been here an hour and already your throwing down with the Lord Marshall!"

Harry's eyes widened and he swore. "Do you think I should have waited at least two hours?"

"You're impossible," sighed Elaine, rolling her eyes.

Harry crossed his arms and asked seriously, "So what am I getting myself into? "

"I've seen him duel before, but only briefly. I know he's fast," warned Elaine, frowning. "He tends to favor fire magic and uses quite a bit of earth magic too from what I remember."

He nodded as he surveyed the area. There were quite a few boulders and statues within the glade which would be perfect for transfiguring or charming into animation. The clearing was longer than wide and filled with watchers, so apparation would have to be precise or he could easily wind up splinched inside a person or object.

"Harry," said Elaine, gaining his attention. She gazed across the clearing at Lord Talos. "Be careful. He's not Lord Marshall for nothing. And when it's over I promise I'll tell you everything."

Harry smiled slowly. "In the films the woman usually offers to sleep with –" He laughed at her glowering stare and backed track. "Okay, okay. Just kidding. Now don't go reneging either. I'm holding you to that promise."

"You seem to be dealing well with this," she noted, regarding him disbelievingly.

Harry snorted. She didn't know him as well as she thought. "Once you've had the Dark Lord come literally flying at you 100 feet above ground, everything else becomes cake."

He looked across the distance and met Talos' imperturbable stare as servants fused about him, readying his blade and checking his armor. It was almost hard to fathom that this was the same kind and smiling Sidhe whom he met earlier. That just goes to show that no faerie was what they seemed. A few heated words between them and already the Faerie lord was out for blood. Well, Harry wasn't going down easy. If this bastard wanted a fight then he was going to give him one.

A bell tolled somewhere in the distance and the air grew thick with anxious anticipation from the crowd. Elaine gave him a small nod, her lips twisted in a grim frown. If he didn't know any better he would think that Elaine was worried. No way. That would mean the ice queen had a heart.

Harry joined Talos in the center of the clearing. Aurora sat upon her throne with her handmaidens at her side, and before her dais were a trio of knights. Their swords weren't drawn but their shields were out and ready to protect their mistress should any harm try and come her way. A tall faerie girl with mauve hair that fell perfectly down her back gestured for them to face her.

"Greetings one and all!" said the faerie girl loudly, so that everyone watching could hear. "This Lion's Crowning shall be fought till one opponent submits or if it's impossible for an opponent to continue fighting. Magic is allowed and no restrictions have been placed on weapons. No interference shall be tolerated and only her highness, the Summer Lady, may interfere or call the duel to an end once it's begun." She turned toward the duelers and said curtly, "Before we begin the oath must be spoken. The oath is sacred and is a promise witnessed by all before you and the lands of Faerie itself. To break the oath is to lose ones standing within all eyes, and forevermore will both courts shun thee, and distrust shall always be cursed to your name. Now enter into the oath."

The stars above visibly brightened as a sudden wind surged through the woods. Harry inhaled sharply as the breeze touched his face, hot and tingly with the feeling of a soothing caress. The wind wasn't alone. Carried along its back was the distant sound of roaring lions. Starting as a dim echo in the back of his mind, the noise gradually grew louder with each beat of his heart. Within the roars was a whispering message that told of never-ending courage, strength, and unyielding pride. Whatever this oath was it wasn't malevolent. This was magic as old as the power that saved him as a baby.

The words appeared on the tip of his tongue, and he and Lord Talos recited the oath simultaneously:

"_We duel beneath the gods watchful stares,  
__And the moon weeps in happiness or despair.  
__An eye for an eye, blood for blood,  
__Our swords shall cross till the standing two become one.  
__I pledge to fight thee till thou falls,  
__As the stars are my witness,  
__may the true Lion be crowned before all_."

A crack of thunder sounded throughout the land, breaking the surreal moment as the oath finished, witnessed by the Nevernever itself. The faerie girl stepped out of the way and from the ground came a shining light that traced a perimeter of the hall, like a flame following a trail of gasoline. The entire court and Aurora's dais stood just on the other side of the line that met back on itself and shot into the air. Violet light shimmered into a large shield that looked almost like glass but reflected the light all wrong. It surrounded them like a giant shoebox, keeping them in and protecting those watching on the outside.

Talos unsheathed his sword and his body moved with a liquid grace as he settled into a dueling stance. "I will make your defeat swift, I promise."

A slow smile spread across the wizard's face. "Forgive me if I just don't just don't get on all fours for you." He drew his wand. "Nice sword. What Frenchman did you buy it from? Couldn't go for anything manlier?"

Pre fight banter had a purpose. Part amusement and part distraction. A taunt could sometimes force an opponent to react sloppily. Talos seemed like a prideful and perfect noble, always composed, traits that was blindingly obvious about him and would be the easiest to exploit. He didn't outwardly react accept for a slight clenching of his jaw. Harry kept the teasing small on his face, but watched the Sidhe carefully. His eyes snapped to the sudden movement of Talos' right shoulder tensing. The faerie lunged forward with his sword. At the last second he feinted and went high. The sword passed through air as Harry twisted and disapparated with a sharp crack.

Talos recovered his balance quickly as Harry appeared less than half a dozen meters away. He swished his sword and fixed Harry with a shrewd look that quickly replaced his surprise. "You have a trick or two up your sleeve ay, wizard?"

"You haven't seen nothing yet," smirked Harry, brandishing his wand.

"I'm afraid that I'm inclined to say so as well," said Talos, unperturbed.

The Sidhe raised his sword in the air. He twirled it twice and then brought it forward with a quick thrust, spinning the blade like a windmill. Fire roared to life in a twisting cyclone that lay on its side. Harry jabbed his wand at a statue beside him as the blaze raced forward. The kneeling angel sprang to life and crossed the distance in two long strides. It stepped in the path of the blast, wings and arms outstretched like a true warrior of heaven. Fire splattered harmlessly against the stone guardian. Harry swung his wand wide and the statue rocketed forward through the stream of fire. The blast cut off as Talos did a neat cartwheel out of the way landing on a knee, while the statue slammed into the ground throwing up dirt and stone.

Talos lifted his sword and with a snarling yell slammed it tip first into the ground. Harry stumbled as the ground quaked and thick vines shot up from below. The brown and green tendrils grabbed Harry and wrapped tightly around his midsection before he could dodge. He bit his lip fighting back a pained yell as the plants curled tighter, crushing his ribs painfully. Harry slammed his wand down against winding vines that curled further up his body. There was a brief flash of light and a sizzling hiss, as the vines rapidly blackened losing life. Harry jerked away from its decaying strands.

He hadn't expected that one. Harry didn't give the Lord Marshall time to attack again. He grabbed his wand with two hands and jade lightning jumped from its tip, leaping the distance between them in a brilliant flash of light. Talos didn't have enough time to maneuver and the lightning slammed into him, knocking his sword from his hand as he hit the ground in a smoldering heap. Manipulating lightning in such a way was technically a dark curse, but who was here from the Wizengamot to judge him?

"You've already had enough?" mocked Harry, striding forward toward where the faerie lord lay. "You wrote all those checks with your mouth—"

Suddenly the smoking form of Talos shimmered and distorted, fading away to reveal a small bounder. Shit! Faerie glamour. Harry spun around and fell back, dodging the blade that came narrowly close to hewing off his head. He landed hard on his back and rolled away as the rapier came slashing down.

"You're really starting to piss me off with this pansy ass sword," Harry growled, jumping up.

Purple light glowed at the tip of his wand and shot forward. This time Talos was on the defensive as he dodged from the myriad of spells that Harry rattled off in rapid succession. Cutting Curse, Blasting Curse, Conjunctivitis Curse, Blinding Hex— the spells barely missed the nimble lord, as he moved as if on air with an unnatural agility and grace that no human could ever hope to match. Harry curved his wand wide in the air in a circle. Conjured ice crystals the size of daggers came into being, and with a flick of his wrist they fell from the sky at blinding spell.

Talos' sword slashed out and a wide arc of blue light jumped from the blade, slamming into the incoming ice projectile shower, leaving a rain of ice flakes in its wake. The lord was moving before his sword finished its movement. Talos bolted forth his form a dark blur as he moved faster than the human eye could track. Harry whipped his wand too slow to defend himself, and yelled out as the rapier's blade caught him in the shoulder. He stumbled back crying out in part surprise and part pain.

As he pressed his hand to the gash, Harry barely managed to glimpse Talos spin his body around, and he snapped out a hasty, "_Protego!_"

The sword struck the emerald-like shield that hovered in mid air before him, cracking from the cut. Harry frowned. That was new. Shield Charms usually didn't have a reaction like that. As it fell away, Harry released another lightning bolt. Talos moved with incredible speed as he did a series of backhand springs, keeping ahead of the racing strike. He settled into a low stance that looked halfway between an x and a t. The large bolt of lightning hit its mark, but instead of frying the skin from his body, the lightning struck his hand and flowed down his arm, through his other arm, and down into the ground leaving him without much more than a blackened palm.

"Color me impressed," Harry deadpanned, although honestly impressed at the counter to his spell.

Talos looked at him with eyes full of quiet confidence. "You will find that although you wield powerful magic for a wizard, I'm not a foe so easily defeated."

"Oh, I wouldn't know about that," Harry shot back, giving a sphinx like smile.

The stone angel reached out from where it lay on the ground with its granite arm. The Summer Lord didn't realize the statue's movement till the stone hand wrapped around his leg, keeping him firmly planted in his position.

"_Ukur-re a-na-àm mu-un-tur-re_!" He lashed out with his wand, its tip coated in the blood from the gash on his shoulder.

The wood pulsed in his grip as the blood powered the energy for the ancient Sumerian spell. A dark, ruby colored whip connected to his wand whipped through air, a flailing tentacle of dangerous dark magic, which lashed the Lord Marshall across the side of his face. His scream of stunned pain filled the air as pale skin split open. Not just there. All over his body appeared similar wounds, light red blood flowing from the open cuts.

Harry stared grimly at the bleeding Sidhe with his flayed skin. The spell was ancient and once used by nobles to bring rebellious slaves into submission. Powered by blood, and called to blood, the whip hit its target and from one wound, multiple wounds would appear, as the blood was called forth to the surface by the open wound caused by the first strike.

"Just stay down," Harry ordered, his voice hard as he regarded the fallen lord with deadly seriousness. "I'm this close to taking off the gloves."

Talos glared at him with blood running down from a gash over his eye, and said defiantly, "I will never submit to you."

Harry nodded curtly, straightening his shoulders. "So be it."

He stabbed his wand with a precise twist, and a yellow slash of light swept through the air. The spell slammed into Talos, and met some resistance as if a dampening or repelling field lingered over the lord. Impressive but not enough. Even the mighty wards of the Ministry of Magic had a limit. Harry shouted the spell with force and it pushed through the warding barrier, and the snapping of bones breaking echoed loudly. The spell's force carried the Lord Marshall back into the air. As he landed he skipped across the grass twice before finally crumbling into a ball. There was a swift surge of wind and a lion's roar filled the air, its echoing boom sending a feeling of elation down his spine, and making the hair on his neck stand on end.

The containment field faded and attendants rushed to their lord's aid. Harry didn't expect applause, but he wasn't expecting the curious glances from earlier to be replaced by thinly masked calculation or open admiration. Honestly he didn't know what he had been expecting but it wasn't this.

"That was incredible," breathed Elaine, staring with wide eyed awe. "I've never—"

Harry cut her off. "Later. Let's get out of here. I hate to think what would happen if I spent another hour here."

"Probably go head to head to head with Mother Summer herself," muttered Elaine, dryly.

"Uh, who?" Harry asked, watching the servants half drag half carry the bleeding form of Lord Talos out of the hall.

"The Queen Who Was," Elaine explained quickly, as Aurora approached them.

The Summer Lady regarded him with her penetrating inhuman eyes. "I knew you would prove to be a valuable ally and you reaffirmed my decision. You were Lord Talos better this day, and not many can match him in combat."

"Trust me," replied Harry, shrugging with one shoulder for obvious reasons. "I've had lots of practice. Lots."

Aurora considered his words seriously. "I have no doubt of that." She opened raised her arm and from her grip dangled a chin of silver. At the end of the chain was a circular pendant made of silver and in the center glittered a stylized oak leaf detailed in gold. "I would like to offer you this token, the Order of the Gold Oak. With it I name thee friend and ally of the Summer Court, Wizard Potter."

"Less gaudy than the Order of Merlin I'll say," he said thoughtfully, taking the offered pendant. He smiled at Aurora, but his next words were clipped and hard. "I'll be looking for any signs of betrayal always from you. You try anything against me and you'll find the Americans have an acronym for it. Ah yes, M.A.D."

"Mad?" asked Aurora, slowly.

Harry's smile only increased as he answered, "Mutually assured destruction."

Aurora nodded, her eyes going flat for a moment before they turned neutral. "You would be a fool if you didn't tread with caution. Man fears fire, always getting burned, and cowering from its blaze. But man also uses fire to survive, for without fire humanity would have long ago died away."

_Said the spider to the fly_.

Harry was about to make a smart comment to counter her pseudo advice, but stopped once he noticed the look Elaine was giving him. Instead Harry mustered up a tight smile and managed a small nod. He barely listened as Elaine made excuses for them and asked for permission to leave court and return to Earth. He was thankful that someone did it for him. He had enough of faerie politics to last him until the next decade. By the time they were stepping through a rift in the air leading back to the mortal realms, Harry had healed his shoulder and there was only a fading tightness from the repaired skin.

Their steps made barely a noise as they walked down the mostly empty sidewalk under the clear night sky of downtown DC. The tall white building of the W Hotel rose up in the distance like a pillar of ice that stood out in the dark of night.

Harry rotated his newly healed shoulder, glancing at Elaine out the corner of his eye. He gave her a curious look taking in her pursed lips and her pensive stare. Elaine sighed loudly after noticing his watchful gaze land on her again.

"Go on and ask whatever your about to ask?" she snapped.

Harry rolled eyes. "Must you always react like someone pissed in your cereal?"

She sent him a withering glare.

"Fine," said Harry, stuffing his hands in his pocket. "I've been wondering about what you said back there in the Nevernever. You told me how you ended up here."

"Figures you wouldn't let that go," Elaine muttered, turning her gaze heavenward. "It's like giving a dog a bone. You want to know my life story. It's like this. It starts like every story—"

"Once upon a time?" cut in Harry, not resisting the teasing smile that tugged at his lips.

The eye roll came right on cue. "No. Boy meets girl. I was just a kid. We were both ten and orphans…" her tone grew surprisingly soft as she recounted her tale. Harry was for once silent as those gray eyes turned inward, remembering. "We were each other's first love, first everything. He was my whole world. We even learned magic together. The man who adopted us taught us magic. We didn't know it at the time the time but he was a black wizard, and wanted us strong enough so we could come under his control and serve him. He-he—"

"He got you didn't he?" asked Harry, quietly.

She nodded. "He came after me and I was just a stupid kid." She trailed off angrily, clenching her fist tightly as she stopped abruptly on the sidewalk. She was caught up in the memory. "I became his thrall—he broke into my head—he laid all his will on me and I couldn't fight it—he twisted my thoughts— and I was forced to hold—"

"He made you kill your boyfriend?"

Elaine smiled sadly. "It wasn't about killing him— Justin wanted to control him and break him like he did me. The magic he taught me, the things he showed me," she shook her head, clearing her thoughts. "No matter how hard Justin tried he couldn't break him, and the next thing I fully became aware of was fire. It was everywhere. The house burned, even Justin— All his spells unraveled and I ran as everything burned. It was instinct. I was long gone before I even realized I was running."

"What about—" began Harry, carefully.

Elaine shook her head, half smiling. "No. He got away. He's still alive but he doesn't know I am."

Harry leaned against a newspaper stand and crossed his arms. "And why not? Do you think he wouldn't want to see you?"

"Not after what I did," said Elaine with regret and sorrow thick in her voice. She swiped a hand at the corner of her eyes and Harry had the decency to look away and pretend he didn't see it. Crying girls was never his thing. "That's not important. I toed the boundaries of the Laws of Magic. That's what important. You know as well as I do that the White Council doesn't react favorably when their laws are trifled with, so I found sanctuary from anyone trying to seek me. The longer they hide me the greater my debt to Titania, Aurora's mother and the Summer Queen, grows. Her protection is what has kept me safe since I was sixteen."

"Eight years," murmured Harry, frowning at the number. "That's a long time to build up a debt, Elaine."

Elaine tucked a stray hair behind her ear and sighed. "I know. I don't have much time left. I know Titania will be calling in my debt soon. They don't let stuff like this go."

"My new allies," said Harry, dryly. He laid a hand on her arm and smiled sympathetically. "For what it's worth, I'll use whatever clout I have with Aurora and try and get you out of what's coming."

"Thanks," replied Elaine, smiling at him honestly. "Aurora may be nice, but she's still a faerie and they always have plans within plans. I wonder what she's scheming?" she contemplated aloud.

Harry thought it over. What did the Summer Lady have planned that she may ever 'call on his aid' for? Honestly. He really didn't care about that for now. What he wanted to know was how great an ally she would prove to be? Theoretically she was the perfect person to go to with unusual knowledge of the arcane. Getting back to his world was going to take resources and skill that he didn't have access to. But maybe Aurora had it or knew someone who did.

The truth was Harry would at this point do anything for information on why he was here, how, and if he could go back home. So what he had just aligned himself with a soulless being for a bit of equal backing? He needed answers and he just hoped that in the end this alliance didn't end up biting him in the ass. He had an inkling of what Aurora was capable of, and he was sure she had the same idea of him. But the truth was, she truly had no idea how powerful an ally she just made. He wasn't grandstanding earlier. If Aurora backstabbed him then he would start a personal war against the entire Summer Court till either he was dead or them. Mutually assured destruction indeed.

* * *

This is the final chapter pre-Summer Knight. The next chapter will begin the part of the story that syncs up with the timeline of SK.


	11. Three Years Gone

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter either. It belongs to its creator J.K. Rowling and probably Warner Bros. too. I'm not too sure about that. This piece of literature is simply the work of a humble fan. I also credit Jim Butcher for various themes, subjects, or references that I may use.

* * *

Author Notes: This is a Harry Potter crossover with the Dresden Files the book series. All my knowledge of the Dresden Files comes from the books. I've never seen the TV series. For the timeline that will be stated later. Thanks to the folks at DLP for help with editing.

* * *

**Awaken Sleeper.  
**Chapter Ten: Three Years Gone  
by: Water Mage

Left. Right. Left.

Run. Run. Run.

Blood pounded in his ears. All he knew was the heart beating in his chest, and his screaming thoughts that urged him to keep moving. They were right behind him. He couldn't hear them. Oh no, they were too good to make noise, too inhuman to move with anything but supernatural grace. Technically he was just as supernatural, and there was no way they were going to catch him. At least that's what he told himself to make him feel better.

Right. Right. Left.

He was almost there. The money he spent for the house's floor plan was worth every penny. Without them he would have been long dead by now.

Come on just a little bit more to go.

He rounded a corner and found his way blocked by one of his pursuers. He came to a smooth stop and surveyed the obstacle. This one must have doubled back around. The Asian man blocking his path was taller than him. His dark gaze was strangely resolute, and the tiniest smirk on his face promised a great deal of pain.

"There's no escape," said a feminine voice, breaking the still silence. "Surrender now and I won't rip your spine out while you still draw breath."

Her negotiation tactics needed some work. He turned his head a fraction of an inch, and frowned beneath his mask as he regarded the newcomer. Long black hair shined beneath the light, and sea green eyes only enhanced her exotic beauty. She wasn't full blooded Asian. He could see other bits of various ethnicities around her cheekbones and eyes. Just like many supernatural females her beauty rivaled her deadliness, and it was best never to forget that.

He backed up closer to the wall keeping them both within sight. "I'd rather not, thank you very much."

They creped closer, barely noticeable, causing him to take the same opposing steps backward. The woman smirked. "Give us the scroll. You fear us. I can smell it. There is no escape for you."

"You forfeited your life when you broke in here," said her male counterpart, his eyes shining with an eerie hunger. He threw up his head and gave the air one long, animalistic sniff, his eyes slipping closed in pure pleasure. "And such a sweet life you're giving up. I can't wait to get a taste of you."

"I'm not into blokes sorry, fang face," he replied, noticing the window in his peripheral vision. "It was nice of you to offer though."

The woman raised one perfectly plucked eyebrow. "Oh, this one is brave. I will enjoy feasting on his chi."

"You're going to regret coming here this night," hissed the man.

Their faces simultaneously began to revert as their human masks fell away to reveal their true selves, vampires. White bled from their roots in a flood of contrasting color, enveloping all the black in their hair, as their eyes took on a gold sheen. His heart thudded loudly in his chest and he knew they could hear it. Their faces twisted losing all color, as their skin thinned and stretched tightly against the bones, making them look more like the walking undead that they were.

There was no time to waste. He threw his arm out as they sprung forward. The wand in his grip exploded in a blast roaring, billowing noise and violet light. The Charmed Fire swept through the hall led by a quartet of phoenixes made completely of fire. The vampires hissed in pain as the magical flame lashed out, consuming everything in sight and burning the hall with unforgiving accuracy.

"Wizardry will not avail you!" the woman screamed, angrily.

Was she kidding, since when?

They jumped through the flames with a roar of pain and anger, as the fire licked at their clothes and skin, easily burning both. He jumped backward and his back felt like it exploded as he threw himself out of the window behind him. A tingle of energy danced across his skin as his body fell past the wards on the house. Fingers scraped against him and the ground rushed forward. He held tighter to the scroll and twirled his body around, feeling the in-between darkness swallow him whole as he moved between time and space.

The darkness vanished and he felt his body rematerialize, and he promptly fell hard on his back against hardwood floor. He snatched the ski cap off his head and wheezed out a pain filled breath of air. Groaning, Harry grabbed at his head that took the fall just as much as his back. He raised his arm and brought the scroll to his eye level. A slow smile spread across his face. He had done it. Two months of staking out, back alley dealing, and bribing had gained him his prize.

"Can't be done my ass," he grumbled, chuckling.

They didn't know his record.

Harry climbed to his feet and sat the scroll carefully on the coffee table. His loft thankfully hadn't burned down or got broken into since his two month absence. The penthouse was designed like a modern loft with floor to ceiling windows, two bedrooms, two baths, and tons of living area space. The open space was perfect for grand furniture or magical rituals that teased the edges of the universe, and played with space and time inside a closed system. Perfect.

He kicked off his boots and stumbled to the bathroom. He splashed some water on his face and took in his reflection in the mirror. He needed a shave. It was only a five o'clock shadow, but he normally kept his face bare. It looked better with his hair that he kept very short, rather than the long unkempt style of his youth. It made him look him older, and saved him from the endless _how do you get your hair to do that _questions. Six foot, decent shape, no rock hard abs yet not a soft marshmallow either, but overall not bad for pushing twenty four.

His sock clad feet padded softly against the floor as he crossed the living area to his bedroom. He winced at the brightness of the sunlight. _Merlin's Might._ It would never get old instantly apparating from one end of the world to another. The abrupt shift from night to day or vice versa always played havoc with his internal clock. He toed off his socks and fell onto the bed. Sleep came before he could even contemplate his tiredness.

* * *

Something was ringing.

The noise jarred his liquid black dreams, and he growled with annoyance when the grip of slumber left him. His body protested against moving as he sought out the disturbance. Harry found the phone buried under a pile of dirty clothes.

"Yehow?" he mumbled into the receiver.

"Harry?"

Yawning, he wiped the last of the sleep from his eyes. "Hey, Mum."

"Harry, where have you been?" she demanded in that voice that only mothers ever use. "I've been trying to get in contact with you for months now!"

"Hello to you too, Mum," he said with far too much cheer.

He could hear her frown through the phone. "Don't try that charming act with me, Harry! I'm immune to it. Now where have you been?"

Harry sighed. He hated when she got all maternal. She could sniff out a secret like a Doberman. "Fine. Not over the phone. Can you come around to my place?"

"Why don't you come to the house," she suggested hesitantly. "It's been so long since you've been here."

The phone made an odd sound as he clenched the plastic tighter in his grip. He stared emotionlessly at the floor. They both knew exactly how long it had been since he last stepped foot within that house. There was no need to be obtuse or coy.

"Is he going to be there?" he asked gruffly.

There was no need to say the name of _him _either.

Lily was silent for a long moment. "No. He's busy. Things have gotten a bit hectic lately."

"How so?" Harry asked, switching the phone to the other ear. This was news to him.

"Looks like I have to catch you up and you have to do the same," she said, skillfully evading the question. "So will I see you soon?"

Was that triumph in her voice? He shook his head smiling. She sure knew what button to press to get him to agree. She triggered his curiosity. Once his interest was sparked then he had to see it through till he got his answer. A trait he wished he could stop since it had gotten him into trouble too many times in the past. Yet the same trait had kept him in the know, and had often provided information that got him out of the same trouble he regularly fell into.

"Fine," he finally agreed after almost a minute of silence. "I'll be there in a little while. Bye, Mum."

He hung up the phone. He still wasn't too big on the mushy stuff like saying I love you or any of that, especially when on the phone. It always felt automatic or forced saying it at the end of a conversation. He took his time getting ready. It was his first time being in his own shower, and his own place for two months. It was nice to enjoy the comforts of home after being gone for so long. He was tempted to just go back to sleep, but that would only lead to another phone call and the process would repeat till he got there.

Harry put on a pair of slacks, a black shirt, and threw a blazer on over it. He grabbed the scroll and stuffed it inside a cylinder, and then slipped it inside of the coat pocket joining his wand. He spun on his heel and dissaparated with a crack of displaced air.

Same manicured lawn, pristine paint job, and quiet neighborhood. The house hadn't changed in three years. Had he expected it to? A large part of him had imagined there to be a huge change in his absence. That day had been one of the most awful days in his entire life. His life had changed that day. Harry kept in touch with his mother and brother, but never here. Never had he come back to the place his father had forbidden him entering ever again.

The door swung open and Lily Potter appeared in the doorway. She was dressed in a dark red shirt and a long white skirt. One hand was on her hip and her smile was bemused as she stared at him expectantly. Her eyes were just as bright and her hair was the same vibrant red as when he had first met her. Only the lines that creased her face when she laughed hinted at her true age.

"Is there a reason you're just standing here on the porch?" she asked, cocking her head. "I thought you were a boy scout asking for a donation or something."

Harry shrugged, smiling. "I was trying to kill a minute or two. It's always best to be fashionably late."

"Oh hush and get in here!" she laughed, waving him in.

He stepped into the house and then followed his mother through the foyer, and into the sitting area. The furniture was different, and they had painted the walls a rather boring shade of white. But it was still the same house. The same room that revelations had been shown. They took a seat on the couch. He let out a whoosh of air as she threw her arms around him in a tight hug.

"It's so good to see you," she said, her voice thick with relief. She let him out of the hug. "I've been calling you everyday. I didn't want to think the worse, but I couldn't help but worry."

"I've been fine," he promised, wondering if he sounded as awkward as he felt. "I swear."

"What have you been up to?" she said, not buying the innocent act for a minute. "You look tanned? Did you skip town and go on a vacation?"

"I've been in China for the last two months."

"Doing what?" she asked, crossing her arms. "Seeing the sights?"

"I did that the first day." Harry reached into his coat, and sat the cylinder between them "I spent the rest of the time planning a robbery."

Lily froze in place, stunned. It took a long moment before she found her voice. "You're joking, right?"

"No," he said, deliberately casual. "Last night I broke into Heng Zhu's house and stole that from his personal library."

Her face filled with stark disbelief. "Heng Zhu as in the Lord of House Zhu? The bloody King of the Jade Court vampires!"

"You know him?" he asked, tongue firmly in cheek.

"This is not a time for jokes," she snapped, eyes flashing. "Do you know that Lord Zhu is the lord of a whole country full of life force sucking vampires?" Lily leaned forward, staring at him grimly. "Jade Court doesn't play games, Harry. Surprise and fear are their main weapons. They take the breath from your body, and with it come your life force. You would age faster than you could scream."

Harry's jaw dropped. "You do have a way with words, Mum. You still tell Aiden bedtime stories?"

"Just like your father," she sighed. "Always joking. This is serious. Do you understand that right now the White Council is at war with the Red Court?"

"There are three main vampires Courts right?" asked Harry, frowning. "Red, White, and Black."

She nodded. "That's right. The Jade Court is old, really old. They usually stay out of Vampire Court politics. They see such things as beneath them. But if Lord Zhu thinks that a wizard robbed his house, he might suspect the White Council. If the Jade Court gets involved in the war then it won't be a war. It will be a bloodbath."

Guilt weighed down on his shoulders like the weight of the world. "I've been out of the loop for awhile. _Merlin's Might_, I've been focused on other things." He closed his eyes, massaging his temples to stomp down the rising headache. "What war?"

Lily laughed, but it was without humor. "You've seriously been out of the loop. Seven months ago the Red Court officially declared war against the White Council. A wizard who was representing the Council, killed one of their nobles, members of her household, and burned her house to the ground."

Harry whistled, impressed. "Bloke must have had some balls on him. I take it he had good reason, or did he just have a death wish."

"It was a trap," she answered. "They baited him to do it. They've been salivating over the thought of war against the White Council for centuries. The wizard was just a means to an end."

He connected the dots. "So that's what you meant about things being busy. With the White Council at war then the Venatori Umbrorum, as allies of the Council, are helping in the fight. Is that what Dad's doing?"

"Your father is in Illinois now. The White Council is meeting there to discuss the war, and they invited all their allies to attend so they could officially declare their allegiance."

"I had no idea," he admitted, softly.

She nodded, her face set in a grim expression. "And now you might have inadvertently tipped the scales in the vampires favor. Let's pray that the Jade King doesn't blame the White Council for your actions. What is so important about this thing anyway," she tapered off, as she unrolled the scroll and got a good look at it. "Oh."

The ancient paper was filled with script that he already knew was from a language long since dead and blurred sketches due to age dominated the middle of the parchment.

"That scroll is said to have been taken from the grave of Genghis Khan," Harry explained, watching as she intently studied the document. "It's said that he stole it right before he torched Shrangi-La. The scroll is supposed to hold the secrets of enlightenment. With it a person can find the answer to the question that burns brightest in their heart."

"_Any_ question?"

Harry nodded. "If your greatest question is to know what is the meaning of life, then the scroll once deciphered will tell you."

"This is incredible!" she gasped, staring wondrously at the parchment.

"Do you think you can translate it?" asked Harry. "Your resources are better than mine. It would probably take you half the time it would take me to figure this thing out."

"I don't know, Harry," she said, regretfully. "This is stolen property and if Lord Zhu somehow traced it back to me, I could put the Venatori, your Dad, and Aiden in danger as well."

"Even if it would help find out how what happened to Harrison?" asked Harry, his tone as neutral as his facial expression.

She glared at his blank face. "Don't go there, Harry. You know I—"

Harry hung his head, instantly feeling guilty. "I'm sorry, Mum— I didn't think." He took the scroll from her hands and stuffed it back in the cylinder. "You're right. I can't bring that kind of trouble to you."

The front door slammed. Harry's wand was out and touching his head before the sound even registered to Lily. She watched surprised as Harry faded from sight like a ghost. If it wasn't for the weight she could still feel on the couch's cushion then she would think that he had gone.

Aiden walked into the sitting room. Even with his reddish brown hair that fell in his eyes, he still took more after James rather than his mother just like Harry did. The smile he entered the room with slowly fell as he gazed around with a puzzled expression. His toy sword fell to the floor with a clutter as his hazel eyes landed on the space that the disillusioned form of Harry occupied. Aiden's face brightened with a jubilant smile as he ran to Harry, and threw his arms around his unseen brother.

"Harry!" the eight year old cheered, smiling widely.

Harry's body reappeared as he ended the spell, wrapping his arms around his little brother. "You're getting big, Aiden." He poked him in the side. "And heavy too!"

The younger boy batted the digit away. "Harry, stop! That tickles."

"That's kind of the point, brat," he grinned, poking him again.

Aiden let out a squeal of laughter and wiggled out of Harry's grip."Are you staying long?" he asked, rocking back and forth on his heels, as he grinned up at his older brother.

"Just for a little while," replied Harry, smiling. "Why don't you go up to your room, I'll be up there in a minute. And you can show me all your cool new toys."

His face brightened at the prospect of showing off for his older brother. He dashed off without another word. Harry watched him go with a fond smile. The smile slipped once he turned back to his mother.

"He's good," he said, amazement clear in his tone. "Not many people can see through a Disillusionment Charm with so little effort and in that short amount of time too. Have you had him tested yet?"

"We want to wait till he's eleven," Lily answered, running a hand through her hair. If she was surprised by Aiden's talent she didn't show it. "That's when magic is supposed to manifest. The fact he's showing power so young will only raise eyebrows. Right now with the war going on, I'm hesitant to even have him tested at all." She shook her head, expression determined. "I don't want my baby to grow up in that world."

He refrained from brining up the fact that the rest of the family was already knee deep in that world. "They say that magical power is gained from the mother's side."

"I can't do a fraction of what you're capable of, or what Aiden will eventually be able to do," she said with a snort. "Minor spells, like helpful charms or tracking spells, I can do. But that's about it. I couldn't pass the test to get into the White Council when I was fifteen."

Surprise, surprise. "I didn't know that."

She shrugged. "It's not my proudest moment. It's rare that someone his age shows so much power. But it does happen. Aiden's power is too strong for it to fade away from disuse. He'll have to be trained at some point."

Harry eyes widened as she trained her stare on him. He took the hint. "You want me to train him?"

"You don't have to sound so shocked," she laughed. "You're a wizard with considerable skill."

"I don't know," replied Harry, stunned. It still hadn't sunk in. "I've learned a lot about the magic in this world, but I couldn't teach him the higher level magic. So he would have to eventually learn on his own or find another teacher." He shook his head, trying to shake off the surprise. "I'm shocked you even trust me with this, Mum. Considering…"

Lily reached across the couch and took his hand in hers. "I made my peace with you a long time ago," she said with heartfelt sincerity. "I mean it. I would love nothing more than to know for sure what happened that day three years ago to bring you here, but I know its not your fault."

That actually meant a lot to him even though he knew in his heart she didn't mean it. He knew she would love nothing more than to have Harrison back, and she would trade him for her actual son without thought, but the words did ease his soul just the same.

"Look," began Lily, seeing him still considering the offer. "You don't have to give me an answer now. He won't need training for years."

"I'll think about it," he conceded. He rose to his feet. "I better get upstairs before Aiden comes looking for me."

"Harry," Lily called after him, causing him to stop in the doorway. "The scroll… Your question… Do you really think it will work? Do you think you can find out about Harrison?"

He didn't turn around to face her as he stood frozen in the doorway. His eyes closed as he tried to ignore the anxious, almost desperate longing in her tone. She probably didn't even realize how she sounded. It still stung. He couldn't lie about that. He ignored the pang in his chest, and schooled his face as he turned around to fully face her.

"I really hope so," he replied, honestly.

He turned back around and left the room.

* * *

It was late into the night when he returned home. A million thoughts buzzed in his head. His mother had drilled home how exactly out of touch he was. He leaned against the island counter in the kitchen, and poured a hefty glass of scotch. He smacked his lips after he downed the liquor, feeling the immediate warming in his gut as it settled home.

"That hit the spot," he moaned, exhaling loudly.

The conversation with his mother replayed in his mind. He couldn't resist the frown that formed on his face. It was about time he got back in tune with the world around him. He couldn't believe that so much was going on without him being aware. For months, he had been following the clues and vague stories that hinted at the location of the scroll. Then it had taken two months of careful planning to steal the scroll from Lord Zhu. The vampire lord's house was fortified to handle attacks, and protected against even those who employed more esoteric means. It had taken sixty two days for him to carry out his plans and successfully complete the robbery. Now in the end it may seem his actions might have far reaching consequences.

The Jade Court could tip the scales of war in the Red Court's favor, and with their combined might the vampires would turn the war into a massacre. Things never went according to plan for him. He slammed the empty glass down and crossed the room to the living area. Books and aged papers, that had seen better days, littered the floor around a ring of silver metal inlaid in the hardwood. Babylonian symbols traced the edges of the circle in a neat black script.

He wasn't lying earlier when he told his mother that he didn't know the higher magics the wizards of this world employed. He didn't. He knew of the theories, and he knew advanced magic from his own world. The two definitely didn't mesh well, just as two magnets were both magnetic, but each had an opposite charge that repelled the other. It didn't stop him from trying to mix the two for his own benefit.

He sat the scroll next to one of the many books that he had scoured the globe for. A book so old that it predated the fall of the Roman Empire. Its pages were full of a dead language chronicling early wizards attempts at mastering the world beyond their comprehension. It was how they had learned of the Nevernever, and the darker things that existed at the edge of being.

Harry took a seat at the desk and turned on the lamp. Light illuminated the work space as he unrolled the scroll, and stared at the yellowed parchment. None of it made sense to him. Nothing recognizable immediately clicked in his mind, which made sense if the scroll was as old as the legends said. It was going to take months for him to accurately translate. He didn't recognize any of the characters. If he squinted and cocked his head then it looked almost Sumerian, if the person writing was drunk off their ass.

"Bloody hell," he sighed tiredly, and dragged his hands down his face.

He glanced over at the open book near his elbow. It was still turned open to the page that he referenced for his last project. One of many projects he had attempted to connect to his past. Inside that silver ring on the floor a window in space and time had formed for the briefest of seconds. A window that was supposed to let him see into a world beyond this one, and if one knew the exact other world then the window would tune into it. At least that was what the ancient wizards that researched the concept believed. The window had formed all for a nano second before the gears of quantum physics came into play and crushed the disturbance with merciless efficiency. The backlash of energy had knocked him unconscious for a day and a half, and damaged his nervous system enough so that it took two more days before he fully recovered.

The book closed with a heavy thud, and he pushed the tome away. "Definitely won't be trying that one again."

It was what he got for attempting to manipulate forces greater than his understanding. Everyone could read a cookbook and attempt a recipe, but that doesn't mean the dish will come out great. The scroll was going to have to be translated with no errors whatsoever, or who knows what disaster would befall him if he got any portion of it wrong during the actual attempt.

Let's see. He would probably have to start with text on Shrangi-La to determine common languages, and then see if the scroll was influenced by one of them. That wouldn't come cheap. His contact in the black market should have an idea of who might have what he needed.

The telephone ringing jarred him from his thoughts. He groaned. Probably was his mother again. He found the phone on the floor partially underneath the bed, exactly where he dropped it earlier after getting off the phone. Harry snatched the phone up and pressed the talk key.

"Hello?"

There was a pause then came a hesitant female's voice. "Hey, Harry."

He almost dropped the phone from his hand that suddenly went slack. "Hello… Elaine."

"You sound good," she said, obviously stretching to fill the silence.

Harry wasn't going to make it that easy. "So you're finally giving me a ring, eh? It's been six months, Elaine."

"I've been trying to call you for awhile now," replied Elaine, defensively.

Harry snorted. "Like a phone call kept you from contacting me before. We both know that you could have tracked me down if you really wanted."

"You could've done the same," she challenged. "You didn't go looking for me."

"Why should I?" he demanded, dropping down on the mattress. "You disappeared. Obviously you didn't want to be found. I know how you are, Elaine. Where did you go?"

"There was some things I had to see to and I— things got insanely busy."

He really laughed this time. "Join the club. So why have you finally decided to get in touch? Are you checking up on me?"

"You could use a checkup now and again. How are your projects going anyway?"

Harry could hear the honest interest in her voice. "I've made some progress. I understand the concepts and practices better than when I first started out. But I could use help from someone with experience at this kind of magic."

"Good luck. I've never been that strong in the more heavy magic," she replied. "The magic you're messing with is old, Harry." Her voice got somber as she warned him, "You're basically toeing the seventh law. So be careful."

The seventh law of magic, _thou shalt not seek beyond the Outer Gates._ The place that was marked as the furthest edges of the universe. Breaking that law, or any of the laws, resulted in death. He only had limited knowledge of the Outer Gates, and that was for good reason. No one parted with that information freely. Even knowing beyond the basics of the Outer Gates would make the White Council come calling. He didn't care about the seventh law of magic. If his home existed beyond this universe, beyond the Outer Gates, then he would continue pursuing a way to reach it. White Council be damned.

"No need to worry about me," he said, dismissing her concern. "Don't think I didn't notice that you dodged my question. Why have you decided to give me a ring after all this time?"

Elaine sighed. "You still have that knack for detecting I see." She took a moment to collect herself. "Harry, I need help."

"What's going on?" he asked, sitting up. Elaine was never the one to idly ask for help. The world must be coming to an end or hell had finally frozen over.

"Queen Titania has called in my debt."

He swore. Queen Titania calling in Elaine's debt was a mixed blessing. On one hand she would finally be free from Faerie influence, but on the other hand there was no telling what the Faerie Queen would have Elaine do to earn her freedom.

"What do you need me to do?"

He could hear the relieved breath she let out. "It feels so good to hear you say that. I'm with Aurora—"

"She's with you right now?" he interjected.

His question carried so much ice cold anger behind it that it surprised even him. He closed his eyes and counted backward from ten. The anger that rose to the surface like a dragon taking flight settled down, as he took deep calming breaths.

"I know that she and you have problems, but—"

He cut her off again, "Don't, Elaine. Just don't. Okay?"

"Fine," she reluctantly agreed. "This is bigger than you and Aurora. Like end of the world as we know it big. And I'm smack dab in the middle."

That definitely got his attention. "What's going on?"

"Ronald's been murdered."

"The Summer Knight?" he asked, surprised. "Damn. Whoever did it must have guts."

"His power has been stolen and the Summer Court is pointing fingers at the Winter Court. Unless the culprit is found then the Faerie Courts are going to war, and it will either be neverending summer or eternal winter all across the world. Neither is a good outcome. Trust me."

It didn't take much for him to figure out the rest of the missing puzzle. "Titania wants you to find the murderer and where the power has gone doesn't she? That's how you'll end your debt to her."

"And you continue to live up to your Hardy Boy name," she laughed. "That's why I need your help. You're better at this than I am. Help me find the killer and prevent this war, please?"

Harry shook his head, smiling. "Of course, I'll help. You don't leave me with any other option. End of the world kind of sold it for me. Where are you?"

"I'm in Chicago," replied Elaine. "Everything seems to be happening here lately."

"Well, add me to the list of things happening in Chicago. I'll be there tomorrow to help you save the world."

Saving the world— it's not like he's never handled that particular responsibility before.

* * *

The plot of Summer Knight has started. And Harry Potter is on his way to Chicago. The time jump may throw some off, but in a few more chapters there will be a chapter called Two Years Ago, that reflects back on past events. It will answer some questions caused by the time jump.


	12. The Ex Factor

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter either. It belongs to its creator J.K. Rowling and probably Warner Bros. too. I'm not too sure about that. This piece of literature is simply the work of a humble fan. I also credit Jim Butcher for various themes, subjects, or references that I may use.

Author Notes: This is a Harry Potter crossover with the Dresden Files the book series. All my knowledge of the Dresden Files comes from the books. I've never seen the TV series. For the timeline that will be stated later. Thanks to the folks at DLP for help with editing.

* * *

**Awaken Sleeper.  
**Chapter Eleven: The Ex Factor  
by: Water Mage

Keys? Check. Bags shrunken, and stored in pockets? Check. Wand? Check. A pocketful of hope that he could make good on his promise, and help save the world from the aftermath of faerie warfare? Check. Harry looked at himself in the mirror. He was as ready as he was ever going to be.

"This is going to be a rough few days," he muttered to the empty air, before spinning on the ball of his heel. He dissaparated from the loft.

The world tilted on its axis for a long moment till his equilibrium suddenly righted itself. Harry opened his eyes as the sound of voices and car engines reached his ears. He stepped out from an alleyway. Chicago. The windy city…or lack thereof. All he felt was the intense heat of the summer sun that shined brightly in a cloudless sky. Someone needed to come up with a new slogan.

Nearby he could see the shores of Lake Michigan. The Rothchild Hotel rose up in a tall multi-storied building that looked like a mini palace. Expensive cars rolled through the front drive all shiny and new, and Harry couldn't resist being wowed for half a second. Swanky, very swanky. Looks like Elaine's taste had changed since he had last seen her. Had the woman traded her ball cap for a tiara? The Elaine he knew was strong, proud, and could drink a marine under a table. Most of all she was low maintenance. He nodded at the doorman, eyeing the pristine décor that adorned every inch of the hotel lobby. Nude cherub statues positioned in the ceiling corners made him fight back a bark of laughter. Oh yeah, definitely not Elaine's usual taste.

He walked to the front desk thankful that he was wearing a pair of dark slacks and a nice shirt. Otherwise he would have stuck out amongst the sharply dressed men and women. The desk clerk was a smiling young woman around his age with short brown hair. The gold plated nametag pinned to her blazer proclaimed her Emilia, _Front Desk Agent._

"Hello, welcome to the Rothchild Hotel," she said in a professional tone that unlike most, actually sounded genuine. "How can I help you today, sir?"

Harry felt his charming smile automatically slip on. He couldn't help it. When a pretty girl smiled at him he couldn't help returning the gesture with a little extra. Numerous times Elaine had called him a low budget James Bond, which he actually took offense to. He would never be caught dead drinking a martini. Get him a cold beer or a whiskey neat over a martini any day.

"I need to book a room, please."

Her fingers moved rapidly over the keyboard. "I have one of our spectacular rooms available in the penthouse. It offers an amazing view of the waters of Lake Michigan. It's six hundred dollars a night."

He could read her face enough to see that she didn't think he would go for the offer because of the high price.

"Sounds great, I'll take it," said Harry, slapping his credit card on the counter. Her eyes registered momentary surprise that was gone with a blink. "I'm going to need the room for a week I think. If I need to extend my stay I'll let you know."

In the years since he had first come into his trust fund barely a dent had been made in the sizeable account. So money was never an object. And if these were the last few days before life as the world knows it ended, then he damn well was going to indulge himself. He wouldn't mind again visiting those strippers he spent the night with in Hong Kong last week. Peni was flexible in ways that he had never seen before. He smothered the dreamy grin that tugged at his lips, as he felt an insistent tapping on his shoulder.

"Can I help you," Harry grumbled, turning around to stare at the person.

The man behind him had silver hair and brown eyes that went wide with surprise as they landed on Harry's face. "Oh, excuse me," he apologized with an embarrassed smile. "I thought you were somebody else."

A coil of tension released itself from between his shoulders. "No harm done," replied Harry, slowly withdrawing his hand from his pocket where his wand rested.

"You look a good deal like a colleague of mine," explained the man with a puzzled smile.

Harry shrugged, and picked up the room key the clerk slid across the counter. "Well you know what they say; everyone has a twin out there somewhere."

The man chuckled and tipped his head. "That's true. Sorry to have bothered you."

Harry nodded with an easy smile, and walked across the lobby to the elevators. He couldn't help chuckling as the lift went up. He had come close to blowing off that man's head with a blasting curse. He wouldn't be able to relax, really relax, until everything here was taken care of. The sooner the better.

The room was on the thirteenth floor and sure enough had quite the view of the lake shore. He reversed the shrinking charm on his things, and threw them on the bed. He dug into the pocket of the smaller of the two enlarged bags. He pulled free a piece of paper where he had scribbled Elaine's room number.

Elaine's room was two floors above him and the hallway looked identical to his floor. He could imagine the rooms being a bit more posh than his own quarters. Harry glanced one more time at the paper clenched in his hand, and then at the room number adorning the door. He knocked twice, paused, and then knocked one more time.

"Who is it?" a gruff voice barked through the door.

Harry rolled his eyes. "It's me."

"Me who?" demanded the voice.

"Harry Potter."

There was a pause and then the voice asked, "Password?"

Harry flipped the paper over and read the words with a sigh, "Funky town."

There was a click of a lock and the door swung open. He stepped through the doorway and stared at Elaine as she closed the door behind him. She wore a red shirt over a pair of blue jeans. Her hair was a little longer but those grey eyes were just as he remembered, determined and cautious. Always cautious.

"Really, Elaine?" asked Harry, one eyebrow raised questioningly. "Did you join MI-5 since the last I've seen you?"

Elaine placed one hand on her hip, and smiled grimly. "When there's a killer on the loose who can take out the Summer Knight, a girl has to be careful."

"Point taken," Harry conceded. He smiled suddenly, warm and genuine. "It's nice to see you. You look good."

"You too," she replied, half smiling. "It's been too long."

They didn't go in for a hug or anything. Elaine wasn't the hugging type, and Harry would probably get punched for even attempting to go in for some physical affection. Not that he had a problem with it. He wasn't too comfortable with hugs himself. Growing up with the Dursley's had seen to that. Harry took a seat on the couch and looked around the place. The room was bigger than his. A lot bigger. He cleared his throat and watched Elaine take a seat on the armchair across from him.

"What's up with the posh room?" asked Harry. "Matter of fact, since when have you start liking fancy places like this?

Elaine shrugged. "I'm not paying for it, so I'm indulging."

"Did you go and bag yourself a sugar daddy, Elaine?" teased Harry, smiling.

Shaking her head, she rolled her eyes. "Still the same old Harry I see. If you must know, the Summer Queen owns this hotel."

Harry frowned. "Since when do Sidhe have their hands in the mortal realm like this?"

"You know as well as I do that faeries are always making deals," explained Elaine. "Granting something but taking at the same time. Their influence is subtle in the world, but its there if you know where to look."

It made sense. The owner of the hotel probably traded the place in exchange for something. He didn't want to know what that something happened to be. If there was one thing widely known about faeries, and that was they loved their bargains. If that bargain screwed over the other person in the end, it made the deal that much sweeter.

Faerie influence always turned his stomach so he changed the subject. "So how much time do we have to solve Ronald's murder?"

Elaine sighed, closing her eyes briefly. Tiredness made her shoulder slump. "Not long. Days maybe."

Harry swore. "Has Titania chosen a new Knight?"

"That's the thing," began Elaine, frowning hard. "The mantle of power the Knights are endued with is part of the balance between the Courts. It has something to do with them being mortal and free will or something. There's a lot of history behind it, and I've never really understood it." She waved her hand flippantly. "Anyway it's a lot of power, and since the Summer Knight has died that power should have returned to the Summer Queen so she can choose a new knight. But it's gone."

Harry rubbed his chin. "Gone like as in missing or stolen?"

"That's one of things we have to figure out," sighed Elaine, troubled.

There was a long moment of quiet as they both swept up in their thoughts. Times like these he missed Hermione. The witch was great at mysteries like this. Her brain put pieces together faster than anyone else that he ever knew, except for maybe Professor Dumbledore. The old wizard always saw five moves ahead in the game of life. Harry pulled together his training from his Auror days.

"First things first, we need a list of suspects," stated Harry.

"It will be a short list. Not everyone has the power to take down a Knight. Especially someone like Ronald, who has been in the game a long time to be damn good."

Harry nodded. That only made things easier then. "Good. It narrows down our pool of suspects. Off hand who do you think could have done it?"

"Well there are the Winter Queens, the Winter Knight," Elaine listed, ticking the names off her fingers. "Maybe one of the Sidhe nobles but that's stretching it."

He swallowed. Okay this was going to take some reworking. Auror interrogation tactics typically involved intimidation, and usually a healthy dose of Veritaserum. Trying that on one of these suspects would most likely result in his blood smeared across the asphalt.

"We're going to need to question some them," murmured Harry, thinking. "How did Ronald die?"

Elaine shook her head, face closing off but he could read the sadness in her eyes. "He was found at the bottom of a flight of stairs in his apartment building. The police think it was an accident."

"I'm sorry," said Harry. "I know you guys were friends."

"Don't," said Elaine shortly, sadness disappearing quickly. "I don't need sympathy. I'm not the dead one here."

Harry rolled his eyes. The bitch was back. "Elaine, come on. I've known you for years. I know you're not some cold robot. I was just being nice. No need to snap at me."

"You're right, I'm sorry," she apologized, mustering up a small smile. "I know you're only here as a favor to me."

Harry grinned. "I knew you subscribed to the feelings club like the rest of us."

"I just got my membership," replied Elaine with a shrug. "Did it sound genuine?"

His laugh rang loud and clear in the room. "It needs some work, but there's potential there."

They laughed for a little bit more and then they sobered up as reality reasserted itself. They were here for a reason besides two friends reacquainting. Harry settled back on the couch and centered his thoughts. He cleared his throat.

"We'll have to go to Ronald's house," he said.

"What for?"

Harry shook his head, shooting her a sympathetic smile. "Have you really picked up nothing at all from me? We have to go look for clues."

"Sorry," Elaine chuckled, rolling her eyes. "Some of us haven't gotten our Scooby Doo card in the mail."

He stood up and clapped his hands. "Come on then. I'll turn you into Nancy Drew yet. Try to keep up."

* * *

They broke from the busy sidewalk and stepped in front of Ronald Reuel's apartment. The building looked like one of those old movie theaters that had been converted and renovated. Elaine glared at Harry as they walked to the building's door.

"Can you change our clothes back now?" she snapped.

Harry made a show of looking at their clothes. They were the same outfits as earlier but they were all black now, from their shirts to their shoes.

"Come on, Elaine. We're breaking and entering. We have to wear black. It's a rule."

Elaine pointed her finger at the sun burning in the sky. "It's daylight, idiot. They wear black to blend into the night."

"No sense of tradition," he muttered sadly, flicking his wand at his side.

Their clothes reverted as they stepped through the doors. An aging security guard made to rise from his chair behind a wooden desk. There was a flash of red light, a gasp, and the guard slumped back in his chair, unconscious.

"I just stunned him," Harry explained, as Elaine rounded on him. "I'll wake him up when we leave. He'll be fine."

They made their way up the stairs and to the third floor. They stopped at the door to Ronald's apartment. The frame was splintered and broken and the door was ajar. Harry shared a silent stare with Elaine. Someone had broken in. The question is whether that person was still here or not. Harry clenched his wand tightly and Elaine followed closely as he slowly eased the door open. Silently they entered the apartment, straining their ears listening intently for signs of the intruder. Harry gazed around the room.

It was a wreck. Someone had been here and gone that much was clear. Furniture was strewn everywhere, papers lay strewn across the floor, and many objects were broken as if an earthquake hit. Harry stared at the mess, frowning at the broken coffee table and holes in the wall. Someone had more than been here. A fight had taken place. This damage was more than a simple robbery. It couldn't have been Ronald and his attacker. The police would have took one look at the scene and declared it a homicide. So this had happened after his murder, but by whom?

"A fight happened here," Harry muttered, picking up a few papers from the floor. "But it looks like someone was looking for something."

Elaine had her eyes closed as she held her hand out, fingers splayed. She was sensing for lingering energy. He had seen her do it a few times before. Magic tends to linger around awhile after recent use. Wizards could pick it up with a bit of concentration. She had tried to teach Harry, but he didn't have the same senses that wizards in this world were born with. Just as she would never be an Animagus or Metamorphmagus, he would never have the inborn abilities they had.

"There are two different energies still present," murmured Elaine thoughtfully, her still eyes closed. "One is faerie… I can't tell if it's Summer or Winter power. The other… definitely wizardry. Fire magic… strong, too."

Harry picked through the mess. He sifted through some of the papers, looking for anything that might jump out at him. Elaine dropped her arm, and gave herself a little shake as she opened her eyes. She looked at him a thoughtful look still worn on her face.

"A wizard and a faerie fought here but why?" she asked, her tone indicating she was talking more to herself than Harry.

Harry pinched the bridge of his nose. He hadn't factored wizards having their hands in this mess. Now they had to be even more cautious. Elaine was sketchy around other wizards since she didn't want her existence to get back to the White Council. Harry didn't blame her. His meeting with the Senior Council member three years ago still was fresh in his mind.

"Someone was looking for something," said Harry. He looked around the room. "There aren't any pictures anywhere. You notice that?"

Elaine nodded slowly, looking around for photographs. "All his paintings are here, but you're right. His pictures are missing."

Harry took a seat at the desk perched before a set of tall windows. He sifted through the papers on top. "So our murderer returned to the take pictures? That's not making any sense."

The female wizard moved across the room to stare at a painting on the wall near the bedroom. It was a beautiful forest. He could see that much from his position. A forest that looked very familiar. Marble statues and columns dotted the painted landscape, depicting a fantastical scene right out of a children's book. Those that had been there knew that place belonged in no kid's book. Solaria Garden, home to the Summer Lady and her court, was as beautiful just as it was dangerous, like its Seelie rulers.

"That can only mean the pictures had something incriminating in them," Harry continued voicing his thoughts aloud.

Elaine turned to him, her expression questioning. "You think?"

He shrugged. "It's a start."

She made a circuit around the apartment looking through the disheveled mess. Harry searched through the drawers on the desk. He swiveled in his chair, and noticed a yellow post-it stuck to the chair's support rods. Harry plucked it off, and quickly read the messily scribbled note.

_Ron,_

_We can't find Lily again. We think he might have got to her.  
__Please come over as soon as you get back home._

_Meryl_

So Ron was Ronald that much was obvious, but who was the other names. And who was _he_? Harry waved the note at Elaine. "Hey, I found something."

"What is it?" asked Elaine going to his side. She read the note he handed off to her.

"Do you know any of these people?"

She shook her head, staring hard at the note as if willing the words to make more sense. "Ronald and I were friends, but we weren't close. At the end of the day he was still the Summer Knight, mortal or not. We didn't talk about our lives outside of Faerie much."

He couldn't say he was surprised. It was classic Elaine. "Well Ronald had friends and friends would surely be included in the missing pictures. Those friends might know something."

Elaine's lips twitched. "Is this what they call a lead?"

"See you're learning already," winked Harry.

She took a seat on the edge of the desk. "I can do a spell and track the person who wrote this. It shouldn't be too hard." Elaine looked out the window so all he saw was the back of her head. "I think I may know someone who can help us solve this. He always was a think on his feet type of a guy."

"I thought you didn't play well with others?" asked Harry, surprised. "It took you a year to even really like me."

She turned back to him, but her face was closed off. Elaine ran a hand through her hair, pinning him with unreadable grey eyes. A full moment passed and he waited for her to speak. If he rushed her she was just close off even more.

"Remember I told you about when I was a girl," she began, biting her lower lip. "I came into Queen Titania's services because I needed protection."

Harry nodded slowly. How could he forget? It was one of the few memories of her past Elaine had ever shared with him.

"Your teacher turned you into a thrall, and he made you try and enslave your boyfriend," recited Harry, remembering the tale in pieces. "But your boyfriend called down fire and—"

"Everything burned," cut in Elaine, her voice had a hollow ring to it. Haunted. "Justin died, but he made it out. My Harry."

Harry blinked. That was new. "You've never said his name before. I didn't know I shared a name with the guy."

"I try not to say it," she admitted, looking down at her hands. "Names have power. I didn't want anything to find a link between us and go after him."

He nodded. "Okay, so this guy can help how?"

"He's a private investigator," answered Elaine, a smile breaking through her expressionless mask. "He actually lives here in Chicago."

Harry snorted. "I see someone has been keeping track of him. I remember you said he never knew you made it out of that fire… Doesn't he think you're dead?"

She grimaced. "Yeah. I don't know he's going to take it."

Harry barely restrained the smile that blossomed on his face. This was going to be good. Elaine was going to have to do some serious explaining to this guy. Frankly if it was one of his friends coming to him after pretending to be dead for eleven years, Harry would curse them on the spot. Oh yeah, this was going to be real good.

* * *

"Do you think we should just come back?" asked Harry, staring at his accomplice.

Accomplice was exactly what she was. For the second time today they were breaking and entering. Harry's, no _Dresden_ as Harry decided to call him by his last name, apartment was warded. The apartment was beneath a big old house. A set of stairs led down to the apartment which was technically the basement.

"Shut up, I almost got it," hissed Elaine, not opening her eyes. "I know how he sets up his wards. We did most of our lessons together when we were kids….Got it. I couldn't disable them, but I can get around them okay. Do your thing."

Harry pulled out his wand as she stepped to the side. "Are you sure we can't just meet him at Starbucks? There's one on the corner."

Elaine shot him a look. "Since when are you so timid?"

"Cautious," corrected Harry. "I'm just saying what if he notices his wards have been tripped, and then he comes in blasting away. Seems kind of reckless."

"Excellent," Elaine said, smirking at him. "It's right up your alley then."

Harry snorted and stepped closer to the door. He made a mental note to be as far away as possible from Elaine when Dresden came in. The man had called a firestorm as a teenager that burned his teacher and the house down around him. An affinity for fire always spoke toward a person's large appetite of rage. And he didn't want to be near when that rage was unleashed. He liked his skin free of burns. He tapped his wand against the doorknob. _Alohomora._

There was a click and Harry eased open the door. He bowed before Elaine. "Ladies first."

She slipped past him and Harry followed behind her. Harry looked around the apartment, taking in the second hand furniture, multiple carpets covering every floor surface, and the various tapestries hanging on the walls. There was a fireplace and kitchenette in one corner, and the other corner led to a small hall that had two doors, most likely the bathroom and bedroom. One would notice all that first if they discounted the mess. Papers covered the couches and floors along with clothes. Empty pizza and take out boxes lay in stacks here and there, and the trashcan in the kitchen had long overflowed.

"This is…" Harry trailed off searching for a word. "Cozy."

Elaine ran her hand along the back of the couch. "Harry's going through a rough time in his life right now."

It took a second for him to realize she meant the other Harry. He was firmly labeled Dresden in his mind. He made a track around the apartment, not that there was much to see on his tour. He could see Elaine doing a similar thing, gazing at the various knickknacks with a fond smile touched by sadness. Maybe it was true; you never really forget your first love. Harry heard the lock click and he tensed up. Time to see if the ex subscribed to the same sentiment. This was going to be a show.

A tall man stumbled into the apartment. Dresden's clothes were rumpled and he looked like he had gotten into a fight. His long face was fixed into a pained expression as he limped in, his square jaw locked tight to fight a grimace. He had dark hair as dark as his eyes, and he carried a staff almost as tall as his towering over six foot height. Dresden stopped suddenly and his staff came up in a flash, blazing with crimson light. His hard eyes landed on Elaine and his face dropped, filling with numb shock that left him paralyzed. Harry slowly stepped out of his line of sight. Better to be safe than sorry.

"Hello, Elaine," Dresden whispered through his shock.

She smiled, slow and sad. "Hi, Harry."

Elaine's face filled with traces of apprehension that made her look unconfident and almost shy. Harry never saw it before and logged the memory for future reference, so he could identify the emotion if Elaine ever wore that expression again. Most likely never. Dresden had collapsed on the couch, gazing at her, drinking her up with his eyes.

"You look good, Harry," said Elaine into the silence her greeting had gathered.

Dresden shook his head, his voice filled with confusion. "This isn't real. You're dead. I killed you I know I did. I looked, spirits looked… through fire and water I had them search—How is this possible?" He choked off and then stared at her, his expression suddenly going unreadable. "What are you?"

Slowly Elaine walked toward him, her smile turning hesitant. "It's me, Harry. Really it's me."

"Prove it," demanded Dresden, his face turning expressionless.

"I know how you setup your wards, Harry. Nothing from the Nevernever could have made it through them without becoming liquid goo. When you were fifteen you wrote me a love song using a ukulele. Or how about when we skipped school to go practice biology. You got quite good with practice if I remember."

Emotions peeked through his blank face, realization mixed with bafflement. "It's been eleven years, Elaine… Eleven years I mourned you! Why didn't you contact me?"

"I don't have a good reason… Fear, shame, anger I don't really know," said Elaine quietly, weighing her answer. "At first I thought you wouldn't ever want to see me again for my part in Justin's plan. Then I was angry at myself for not being strong enough to resist him. Time passed and then eleven years went by as I hid away from everything."

Dresden looked at her with sharp eyes. "But you couldn't resist him, that's the point. You tried to destroy me not kill me. _Destroy _me, Elaine! That demon Justin sent after me wanted to rip my soul to shreds."

"It wasn't like that," said Elaine, hastening to clarify. "He just wanted you to see like he made me see. But you resisted him. You did what I couldn't do."

"Forget it, Elaine. You lost any chance of me understanding when you threw that binding spell at me while your master tried to mind rape me into one of his slaves."

He was frustrated, and anger colored his words. Harry could see he was clenching his fists so tightly that the knuckles were turning white. Elaine didn't back down in the face of his anger. She was never that type of girl. Harry watched Elaine's anger rise up, as memories fragile and bitter came to forefront of her mind.

Elaine spoke quietly, trying to keep a tight leash on her anger. "He wanted to make you a thrall, Harry. He wanted to bind you with enough spells, so that by the end you would have been loyal to him and only him. Like me."

"You were—" Dresden got out, his fury smothered by the revelation.

Elaine nodded. "A thrall. Yes. He got to me before he sent that demon after you. It was probably two weeks before that I think. I stayed home from school because I was sick. Justin told me he wanted to try a healing spell. By the time I realized what was happening I was under his control."

"You were just a kid," Dresden breathed, lowering his face in his hands. "You had no choice at all did you?"

She shook her head, stepping closer to Harry. "It was like a constant fog in my head. I couldn't think straight. Everything was confusing except whatever Justin told me. When his spells began to unravel after you called the fire on him, I just ran. It was impulse and I didn't stop running till I found sanctuary. They hid me so no one could ever find me. Not even you."

Elaine took a deep breath calming down, but Harry could still see the fear in her eyes. "I need your help, Harry. That sanctuary I took came with a price. I'm in trouble."

All that anger that he exuded earlier was gone. Whatever spark of love that once existed between them had died that day, but the memory of it was strong. Dresden didn't hesitate before agreeing to help. Elaine smiled with relief and thanked him with feeling.

"What did you mean a price?" asked Dresden, frowning. "What's going on?"

Elaine sighed. "The sanctuary I took was from the Summer Court of the Seelie. I built up a debt to Queen Titania in exchange for protection. She's finally called in the debt, and will wash everything I owe her if I do her this one thing. There's been a murder… The Summer Knight was found dead and his mantle of power is missing."

Dresden looked at her quickly, his dark gaze boring into her intently. "You're the Emissary of Summer? Titania wants you to find Reuel's killer, and point the finger at the Winter Court. Did she tell you that Winter's Emissary in this matter would meet you tonight?"

Harry's eyes widened, impressed. "You said he was good, but you didn't say he was Sherlock Holmes."

For the first time Dresden took note of his presence. His brown eyes swept over Harry and he didn't seem that impressed but what he saw.

"Elaine," said Dresden slowly, watching Harry. "Who's the kid?"

"I'm twenty four," said Harry, sharply. He knew he looked a little young for his age sometimes, but calling him a kid was pushing it. "Or since your twenty seven does that make you senior citizen age?"

"Harry," called Elaine warningly.

"What?" both Harry's replied at once.

Their heads whipped around to glare at one another. A difficult thing to do since Dresden wasn't staring directly into his eyes. Harry didn't want to be pulled into a soulgaze either. Looking on his soul typically put a damper on things. It didn't make the glare any less potent however.

"Harry Dresden," Elaine chuckled, gesturing. "meet Harry Potter."

Dresden looked at the woman with disbelief. "So is he supposed to be my replacement?"

"Younger, better looking, and I really know how to use my stick," said Harry, twirling his wand between his fingers. "I'm like the new and improved you. I'm Harry 6.0."

Dresden blinked and then turned back to Elaine and asked slowly, "Seriously, Elaine? Are you like babysitting or something? He looks like he's barely out of his apprenticeship."

Harry opened his mouth to retort, but Elaine beat him to it. "Dresden, please. He's my friend. He's helping me out as a favor."

"So I'm Dresden now?" asked the other Harry, his face closing off.

Elaine rolled her eyes. "I can't call you both Harry or it will just get confusing."

"Can we even work with him?" asked Harry, shooting Dresden a dirty look. "He's Winter's Emissary. The Courts will not allow that."

Elaine pursed her lips and nodded. "You're right. We can't work too closely together on this or they'll be hell to pay. But we can help each other out somewhat."

"This whole thing is so messed up," muttered Dresden, letting out a loud exhale. "We have to tell the White Council about this."

Harry and Elaine both jerked as if hit. Actually they might as well have been struck. The White Council was never a safe topic to bring up. Neither was a fan of the governing body of wizards. For good reasons of course. Dresden watched their reaction with confusion.

"The Council can help us," he insisted. "Elaine if you come with me we'll explain—"

Elaine let out a humorless laugh. "Harry this is the same White Council that almost had you executed after the fire you called killed Justin. I heard you barely got off probation by nearly killing yourself. Thanks but no thanks."

"You're a member of the Council?" asked Harry.

Dresden nodded. "Yeah."

"Bad luck that," replied Harry, half smiling. "You have my sympathies."

"I don't want it," shot back Dresden, his lips then twisted into a smile. "What, you couldn't pass the test to get in?"

Harry blinked, his face filling with a dawning realization. "I think I really don't like you."

"Gee, I don't know how I'll make it," Dresden deadpanned.

Elaine apparently had enough. She blew out a loud sigh and put her hands on her hips, glaring. "Get a grip, you two. Unless you guys want to whip out foci and compare sizes, I suggest—"

"Mine's bigger," declared Dresden, smirking at Harry's wand and then looking at his staff.

Harry twirled his wand between his fingers. A habit he formed when in situations where he wanted nothing more than to use the tool, but was unable to. Situations like these. He looked at his wand and then slowly smiled at Dresden and his staff.

"It's not the size of the hammer; it's how hard you hit the nail."

Elaine groaned and glanced at her watch. She smiled apologetically at Dresden. "I'm sorry, but we have to go. I have to make an appointment. I'll call your office so I can get in touch with you later." She touched his arm, and their eyes met in a long stare. "I really means a lot…knowing you're still there for me."

"Always, Elaine."

Harry stepped closer to the door. He shared a look with Dresden, and knew that they wouldn't like each other any time soon. They didn't just click right. Although could attempt to play nice until they solved this thing. Endless summer wasn't great if the heat melted the ice caps and flooded the world. Unending winter would bring about the next ice age. Either outcome wasn't appealing. They had to find this killer for everyone's sakes.

"Let's go," said Elaine, stepping to his side. She glanced once more at her watch. "We have to meet Aurora at the hotel."

Harry bit the inside of his cheek hard. Hard enough to silence the furious anger that wanted to erupt forth. Hard enough to draw blood. The day just went from bad to worse. Now he had to go and see _her_. He glanced at his own watch. Harry wondered when it would be acceptable to suggest they get a drink. Elaine watched him closely as they exited the apartment into the cool Chicago night.

"Relax, Elaine. I'm not that mad. Our reunion is long overdue anyway," he frowned grimly, thinking of Aurora. "After all, it's been years since I've seen my wife."

* * *

Harry and Harry finally met and definitely don't like each other. The next chapter will take us back two years ago and explain how Harry and Aurora became husband and wife.


	13. Two Years Ago

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter either. It belongs to its creator J.K. Rowling and probably Warner Bros. too. I'm not too sure about that. This piece of literature is simply the work of a humble fan. I also credit Jim Butcher for various themes, subjects, or references that I may use.

Author Notes: This is a Harry Potter crossover with the Dresden Files the book series. All my knowledge of the Dresden Files comes from the books. I've never seen the TV series. For the timeline that will be stated later. Thanks to the folks at DLP for help with editing.

* * *

**Awaken Sleeper.  
**Chapter Twelve: Two Years Ago  
by: Water Mage

The taxi ride was quiet. Too quiet, too tense, too everything. He liked it that way. Elaine was giving him cursory glances when she thought he wasn't looking, like she was afraid that at any moment he was going to lose his cool and explode. He could do that silently, and all within his mind, thank you very much. He wasn't mad at Elaine. Okay, he was a little annoyed that she hadn't told him the Summer Court was in town, but that was his own fault. He should have known. The Summer Knight's death would have brought the Courts into town faster than the mail owl flies. No, more than anything he was mad at Aurora. Still mad, more like it. How long had it been since he had last seen the Faerie Queen? Two years sounded about right. It wasn't long enough.

Funny how time flies.

"Harry?"

He looked up at her, fighting to keep his face expression neutral. "What, Elaine?"

Elaine sighed. "You know you don't have to come. Aurora only wants to meet with me."

"I promised to help you in this, and that means seeing the Misses," said Harry. "To move forward then there mustn't be anything hindering the path."

She raised an eyebrow, cracking a slight smile. "That's surprisingly insightful."

"Daytime television," he said with a tip of his head.

He returned to gazing out of the window, watching the streets of Chicago pass with an absent eye. His thoughts continued in the same current cycle. Faeries, rage, Aurora, then repeat. Most of all he began to remember how his present feelings originated. No matter how far back he put it in his mind he would always remember that day. Harry Potter and the Summer Lady Aurora had been married two years ago in chaos, death, and blood…

* * *

A sense of timeless wonder hung in the air in the woods of Solaria Garden. It was if time had no business within the trees and once you entered the forest time seemed to crawl by, distorted by the perfect serenity of the land. The gates swung open and Harry entered the garden proper, housed behind fortified walls and guarded by sleepless sentries. This was the first time he had come to the Nevernever without Elaine accompanying him, but he didn't need her to hold his hand through everything.

The inner sanctum of Solaria Garden was as always surreally beautiful. The hanger-on's and nobles of the Summer Lady's court walked underneath the gold tinted leaves that filtered in the soft light of the moon, bathing everything in an ethereal glow. He took a moment to take it in, before he flagged down an attendant he knew served Aurora.

The young girl with the typical Sidhe eyes, and frost colored hair looked at him expectantly. "Can you show me to Lady Aurora, if you please?"

Her eyes fell on the glittering, gold oak leaf dangling from the chain around his neck. "I just left her presence, but I will escort you, Wizard Potter."

The court of Aurora was a grand hall formed from the trees, blending nature and architecture in a way that didn't overbalance the other. They didn't go there. The aide led him through a curtain of an ivory hiding a worn path, leading to a set of gold-embossed double doors. Carved on the face was a scene of dragons in flight around the rising sun surrounded by a net of stars. They opened into a large square shaped parlor. Warm light shined from globes hovering above their heads, and comfortable furniture was arranged around a spacious sitting area.

The youngest Queen of Summer wore a pair of coveralls, still looking beautiful as ever, paint brush in hand, standing before a canvas and easel. Though she was dressed in paint splattered clothes, her graceful movements and bearing was a tale tell sign of her true status.

"Wizard Harry Potter," she said, turning to him. "What brings you to Solaria Garden?"

The Sidhe aide was dismissed with a swift hand gesture, and Harry spoke as the door closed behind the girl, "So the future Queen of Summer likes to paint?"

She nodded, turning back to her painting with a contemplating expression. "I find painting soothes the soul."

"But you don't have a soul," remarked Harry.

Aurora turned her cat like eyes on Harry, scrutinizing him intently. "Are you sure of that?"

"Yes," he replied, surely looking into those blank eyes that was absent of the inner spark that humans had.

An enigmatic smile spread across her rose red lips. "Yet I still find myself enjoying the craft. What does that say about me?"

"Hitler liked to paint and draw," retorted Harry with a shrug.

Aurora tipped her head, noting his valid point. She gestured to a nearby armchair and he took a seat. She sat on a curvy looking couch. Harry clasped his hands, positioning them on his crossed legs. Aurora regarded him with an amused little smile.

"By your posture I assume you have a request of me?" she asked.

Harry nodded stiffly. It didn't surprise him she noticed. He tried to hide it but it was hard. It wasn't often that he was in Aurora's presence. Specially within her own lands of power. He didn't make it a habit of visiting the lands of lands of Summer within Faerie. He didn't want to be on no one's territory.

"I do need something from you," he began carefully.

In the year he had been an ally of Aurora he had never lessened his caution. And he never would.

She smiled. "We are allies. If it is within my power I will see it done." Her smile didn't drop, but it became almost too bright, too wide. It was _off_. "I know if I am in need _you_ would do the same."

Damn it if his heart didn't lurch at the proclamation. "I need a safe place to work a spell."

"That's all?" she asked.

Harry sighed. "The spell has to be done in the Nevernever, and frankly this is the safest place I know in this whole realm."

"Will this room meet your needs?" asked Aurora, motioning with her hand.

Harry blinked. He hadn't expected her to agree, at least not as readily. "Okay then. Well thank you." He paused for a moment, turning to her with narrowed eyes. "You're not going to leave me alone for this are you?"

Aurora's expression was reproachful. "Would a lion let a tiger loose within its den?"

Obviously that was a no. "Well I guess you'll be in for a show."

He stood up and moved the chair back. The bare floor was made up of smooth stone and it would due for the spell. Harry casted the _finite incantatem_ spell on the shrunken items in his pocket. The books, chalk, and herbs returned to their normal size.

"Looks more like a ritual than a spell," noted Aurora, moving next to him as he kneeled on the ground.

Harry shrugged. "It's a spell. Just a very complex one." He began drawing careful lines on the floor and not looking up said, "I developed this spell based on an ancient rite practiced in Camelot by Merlin's Radiant Order." He jerked a finger at the books splayed open before him. "They were a detailed lot."

Aurora stood over one of the open books, reading the text with a small frown. "They were developing ways of piercing the veil between worlds to find Avalon. Such a thing was folly." Her expression turned curious as she settled her stare on him. "Initially I suspected you were some quasi human half breed. One of those dreadful scions but you're much more interesting. With your _unique_ magic and the way the Nevernever hums around you one would begin to think you're not from around here."

The chalk almost broke in his grip as the silky voice washed over him. He didn't look up, instead only murmuring a cursory, "Oh?" to her inquiring accusations.

She laughed. "I wonder if you truly are a wizard or if that's just the title that best suits you within this world?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," said Harry, looking up for the first time. His expression was one of successful honest confusion. "I really am a wizard."

She might be able to smell a lie a thousand miles away, but the truth would set him free.

Her smile dimmed a bit at his honest answer. "Mysteries surround you like a cloak. You can't always hope to keep everyone of them."

"I will to the last day I draw breath," said Harry, a bit of the inner coldness clouding his eyes.

She was silent as he went back to working on the markings on the ground. Harry pointedly didn't look back up while he continued drawing the symbols on the stone floor. He didn't mind that Aurora guessed that he was from a different world. It was inevitable that she would become suspicious of the true nature of what made him so unique from other wizards. She had picked up on it the first time they met. If anything he was surprised that the Sidhe had taken this long to puzzle it out. From the way she described his power it sounded like he stuck out like a sore thumb, especially when he was within the Nevernever. The land reacted to his magic like a sedated lover, buzzing against his insides with a dim awareness.

The proto-Avalonian symbols adorning the ground was the basis for the language used on the island of magic. At least it was according to his research. He traced the runes carefully in a wide circle, whispering a prayer over each symbol as he curled each accent over the markings.

He tweaked the spell based on the principles of a pensive. Theoretically the spell would use his own magic frequency to lock on a similar source, the wizards of his world, and take him there. Not unlike a pensive a bubble of temporal time would form around him so he couldn't interact with the environment on the other side. Two objects from different universes interacting would have the result of matter meeting antimatter. Poof. They would just simply cease to exist. At least that's what all his research had led him to believe. Apparently that was how this world's version of Atlantis had fallen.

"That should be the last bit," said Harry, standing up.

He took a step back to admire his handiwork. The circle was made up of blocky Avalonian script, red against the ivory colored stone floor. Within the circle was a six pointed star, representing the point of origin in six dimensional space.

Aurora gifted him with a bemused smile. "I hadn't realized you were this gifted in the Old Ways."

"When you put your mind to something…" he trailed off, leaving it at that. Harry looked at her, his expression going serious. "Take a step back."

Harry stepped into the circle as the Summer Lady took a step backward. He took out his wand and gripped the stick in two hands. There was a reason he picked the Nevernever to do the spell. The land was a crossroads of sorts for other various realms. Places of myth such as Tartarus, Olympus, Valhalla, Heaven, and Hell are realms of spirit so their paths all cross within the Nevernever, since technically they're all just regions within the larger dimension of spirit. In theory it was the perfect place for extradimensional exploration.

His wand vibrated in his hands as a visible aura of magic started to shine around him. His form glowed green like the color of his eyes and the infamous Killing Curse. He dug deep into that well of magic that he had access to. It was like opening a door. The floor of warm energy thrummed through his veins like an adrenaline high. Harry directed it through the wand in his hands, and the focus did as it was supposed to. The magic ran into the wand and burst from the tip in a blast of magic and energy. The circle beneath his feet ate the power up, feeding the energy into the symbols, giving life to the spell to run its course.

The room began to hum with power, rising in pitch till he could feel it stroke against the inside of his skin. The star tips lit up and six lances of light split the air. The beams moved and their points converged in a spot above his head. The blue rays emitted a pulse and the air around their joined points began to destabilize. Space broke down as the laws of physics fled before the power rupturing the air.

A dim darkness shone from within the distorted space. The edges throbbed with an angry purple light that seethed with foreign power. Within the abyss of darkness existed dripping chaotic eddies and faded pale lights of an abysmal continuum. Local space fluctuated and Harry shuddered as the world around him _shook_.

"Harry!" Aurora called with an edge of warning in her tone.

Harry gritted his teeth holding his wand tighter as it vibrated stronger, reminiscent of the _Priori Incantatem _all those years ago. "I got it, okay!"

He hoped.

Slowly he tried to cut off his power flow connecting him to the spell. Abruptly the power in the room exploded in a maelstrom of chaos infused magic. Harry stumbled as the tear in space above him screamed. He fell to his knees as the noise roared through his mind, battering against his Occlumency shields like they were paper. He vaguely registered the tempest in the room swell as the lances of light pulsed with eerie blue light. The hole in space expanded by the pulse of the beams, and with it the screaming intensified as the universe around it strained to correct the hole in time and space.

Harry strained his ears over the roar of the tempest of exotic power. He could vaguely make out Aurora's voice over the din. Then white hot pain overrode his every sense of self. Fire licked at his nerves as he felt like his body was being stretched like a piece of taffy. In reality his body was being sucked through the tear in space. His entire mass was reduced to its most basic molecules. Even if he could scream no one would hear the cry through the dimension aether that his atoms streamed across. Black took over his mind sending him into blissful dark as the pain burned his very soul.

He awoke to the sounds of groans.

Someone was making a deep groaning noise of weary pain. Consciousness hit him like a jolt and he realized that the noise was coming from him. Pain hit him a moment later as he struggled to open his eyes. He bit down on his tongue to resist crying out as he turned his body, fighting to pull himself up. He winced as his eyes opened and light filtered through his irises.

He definitely wouldn't be trying that again he thought as he sluggishly righted himself. The pain was a big factor, but more than that the way the universe destabilized and reality fluctuated…he couldn't take the chance of screwing up and blowing up half a city because his spellwork wasn't on point.

Harry rose up holding his head as his blurry vision adjusted itself. His muscles screamed at the movement, and he staggered as his feet gained a foothold on solid ground. His stomach did a flip and a roll and he choked down the vomit that wanted to greet him. He took a ragged breath forcing off the nausea, and then took his first look around.

Okay… not what he was expecting. Cold white ice covered everything in a blanket of snow. He took a full two minutes staring at frozen landscape. Slopes and hills with jagged ice icicles hanging over the edges circled around him. In the distance were snow covered mountains with ivory tipped peaks rising high into the…alien sky. He gaped, rubbed at his eyes, and then gaped some more.

Something had gone wrong, terribly, terribly wrong. The sky looked like every picture of a nebula he had ever seen. It was alien and beautiful in its majesty with its twirling colors of star forming gas, mixing cerulean and blue, in a kaleidoscope of color. Beads of light peaked out from the formation in the horizon, twinkling mauve light setting off the spectacular sight.

This shouldn't be, he told himself, staring at the sky in mixed rapture. A sound pricked his ears and he turned sharply, his body loudly protesting the swift movement. His eyes landed on an unexpected sight.

"Bloody hell," he murmured.

Aurora still clothed in her coveralls shakily got to her feet, even making her imbalance seem elegant. Harry helped her up and she shook off his hand as it slid over her arm.

"Don't touch me," she snapped, taking stock of their surroundings as she gained her footing. "What have you done?"

Harry struggled to form a coherent thought through his muddled thoughts. "Something went wrong."

"Obviously," she stated dryly.

Harry frowned. "My head is killing me right now, and you throwing your attitude around isn't going to help matters."

Her expression clouded. "Do you not realize what you've done?"

The icy question caught him off guard. "I'm sure you can enlighten me."

Aurora looked around and she shuddered, _shuddered_, as she gained a look at the sky above. Her expression went from angry to fearful then smoothed over till he couldn't tell what she was feeling through her expressionless face. It was too late however. He had seen her fear clear as day. The Queens of Faerie had little to fear in the world, and what little was fearsome indeed.

"I should kill you where you stand," she declared, staring at him with rising contempt. "Do you have any idea where you've taken us?"

Harry shook his head. "I have no idea where we are. I was aiming for something more Earth like, but not."

It was the clearest answer he had given her so far, hinting that he was in fact searching for an alternate Earth. She nodded, unsurprised by the admission.

"I suppose you were, but you have overshot your mark…" Aurora suddenly stiffened, stuttering off.

She grabbed his arm and dragged him into the shadows of one of the nearby hills. Her grip may have been dainty but her strength was just as inhuman as the rest of her. Harry stood close to her side, barely breathing, taking her hint of silence. His heart thudded loudly in his throat as her gaze went to the sky. Her small hand was still wrapped around his wrist, and as a piercing screech broke the still of silence her grip tightened painfully.

Harry jerked his head up as a _thing_ flew directly above their heads. Fear crawled down his spine as the creature flapped six unnaturally long wings that had to span a city block. They were membranous, and its head was something glaringly ugly in its monstrosity, as it resembled something almost squid like, but _not_. It gave one more echoing, terror invoking screech and soared over the horizon with slow lazy flaps.

"What was _that_!" Harry demanded, rounding on the shorter woman with her knowing, horrified eyes.

"A Walker," she stated with quiet finality. "One of the lesser creatures in this realm." She looked at him and he almost shrank beneath the timeless, almost ancientness that shone in her eyes. "You've taken us to the Outside. We're in the realm of the Outsiders."

"Outsiders?" he asked.

"As I am to you, the Outsiders were to the Old Ones eons ago." She took a moment to stare at the frozen land. "They lost their acquisition of the world, and now they're here in the Outside, beyond all reality."

Harry's mouth went dry. "What happened? Why weren't they destroyed instead of locked up here?"

"We rule now where they ruled once. Where we rule now, they shall rule again. After winter is summer. After summer is winter."

His heart faltered at the connotations. "We're seriously fucked aren't we?"

"We've gone beyond the Outer Gates," she said gravely. "We're not even in the same universe. My powers here are greatly diminished." Aurora craned her neck, listening. "Even now the Song of Summer fades from my ears. We mustn't stay here."

Harry nodded. He had heard passing mention of the Outer Gates once before. They marked the boundaries of the universe. If his spell had crossed them over, and they landed here that meant his home was further than the Outside. He might have gotten the destination wrong, but at least he knew one thing. His home was somewhere beyond the Outer Gates.

"No worries," said Harry, eyeing Aurora as she began to visibly become agitated. "The spell wasn't designed to permanently catapult me across the universe. I added a contingency within the spellwork. Within a certain amount of time the remainder of the spell will trigger a recall, and it will send us right back." He said the next part sheepishly. "I just don't know how long that will be."

Her razor edged smile made him narrow his eyes. "Are all _wizards_ where you're from as competent?"

He bit back the immediate comeback and instead settled for saying, "Let's go find shelter. I don't like being out here in the open."

It took almost an hour before they reached a rock formation. Aurora with her exceptional eyesight was the one who saw the cave ten meters up within the rock formation. With slow movements they climbed the icy rock face, being extra careful since quick movements was sure to have them falling. They made it up almost eight meters when they found a series of smooth steps in the outcropping that may have been made naturally, but it was impossible to tell because of the thick layer of ice and snow.

The inside of the cave was dark and thankfully not as cold as the outside. After the hour long trek, Harry was more than tired. He already had felt like shit and the walk hadn't helped in the least. Aurora took a seat on a larger boulder and Harry sat on a smaller rock, and sank his face into his palms.

"My magic is wonky too," his muffled sentence came out between his fingers.

Aurora's hearing was just as preternatural as her eyesight, and she understood him perfectly. "I was afraid of that. How can you tell?"

"I tried a Warming Charm earlier," he answered with a tired sigh. "I could almost feel it start to work, but it fell flat. I hate to say it but I don't think we'll stand a chance if we run into one of those Outsiders."

Aurora lifted her chin haughtily. "I'm the Lady of Summer. These creatures will rue their existence if they strike against me."

"I thought you were powerless," retorted Harry, raising an eyebrow.

Her hot glare almost made him reach for his wand. "I said my powers were diminished. I am not powerless. I was born in the womb of Summer, and its warmth still lingers yet within."

That was kind of squicky, but he nodded anyway. "Understood. I-I'm sorry for bringing you here. It wasn't my intention for the spell to sweep you up too."

"I assumed as much, otherwise I would have killed you when I came to."

He didn't know what to say to that.

Aurora continued seeing him at loss for words, "If anything do you not think an explanation is in order?"

Harry frowned. She had a point. He did owe her something. He would be damned if he told her everything, but he would tell her something to satisfy her curiosity. Maybe it would stop her from giving him those long glances that made him feel like he was being dissected.

"I'm not from around here," he started. He laughed a little at his wording. "I didn't lie. I'm a wizard. Only I'm not from the Earth you know. Something happened that I can't repeat, and I ended up in your reality and I don't know why. I just want to go back home."

Aurora tucked a strand of loose white hair behind her ear. "Your world may be beyond Outer Gates, but I can guarantee the Outside is the world closest to my own universe. Just as the lands of Faerie are the closest to the mortal realm within the Nevernever."

"You're being awfully informative," said Harry suspiciously.

Aurora shrugged, making the action seem as if she meant nothing and everything all at once. "You told me something and I responded in kind by telling you something. What do you humans call it, tit for tat?"

Harry snorted out a laugh. "That's right."

"You look cold," noticed Aurora with a small frown. "Summer fae run naturally hot. Come near me and I'll share my warmth."

Harry blinked. "Wow. You're forward."

A tiny smile tugged at her lips. "It wasn't my goal to seduce you. Unless you want to be seduced?"

He had to admit if he didn't think she would stab him in the back at the first or second opportunity he would probably go for it. She was just his type too. Chartreuse eyes and scarlet bow shaped lips, backed by beautiful pale, youthful skin, and long white hair. She had an ethereal beauty about her that shone greater than the Veelas of his world. Even in her paint splattered coveralls she was a vision of loveliness and every teen boy's wet dream come to life.

"Not particularly," replied Harry, fighting to keep the shaky tremor from his voice.

Aurora shrugged that Gaelic shrug once more. "Pity. You were quite talented from what I remember."

"So were you," he replied back with an involuntary smile. The smile slipped abruptly and he snapped out, "Stop trying to glamour me!"

"I'm doing no such thing," Aurora denied, watching him with bemusement.

Harry frowned harder at her confusion. "Thrice I ask and done. Are you trying to glamour me?"

She stiffened and the look she leveled him with could have melted him on the spot if she had her full powers. Aurora didn't answer right away. She took a careful breath before closing her eyes. When she opened them they were flat and neutral as she stared at him unblinkingly.

"I'm not using glamour on you."

Her hard voice could have cut glass. Harry let out a little sigh. He might have just made an enemy out of her, and ruined what little camaraderie they had going but he had to know if she was influencing his perception. At least he knew for sure now. The binding had made sure of that. It probably wouldn't have worked if she was in full form, but he was thankful she was knocked down a peg just as he was.

Faeries aren't allowed to lie. It's the reason they always word their sentences very carefully. And if a faerie says something three times, it has to make sure that it's true. If a promise is spoken thrice it's bound to fulfill it. Faeries hated to be bound in such a way, and he could imagine that as a Sidhe and the Lady of Summer the binding had burned something deep in her gut.

He licked his lips and said carefully, "Thank you."

Her expression made his heart skip. Not in a good way.

He rubbed his hands together puffing against the cold skin. At least they both were dressed somewhat warmly. His blazer wasn't thick but it was comfortable and kept out most of the chill. He imagined that Aurora's coveralls were doing much the same thing.

Harry almost started to doze off as the cold seeped deep in his bones. Sleep eluded him completely since a Sidhe was across from him probably plotting his murder. It was reason enough to keep one eye open. Harry swallowed thickly as she smiled thinly at the nervousness that fleetingly flashed in his eyes. Oh yeah, she was still not happy. Harry leaned his head back against the wall. He jerked up and pressed his ear completely against the wall.

"What is it?" asked Aurora suddenly, noticing his anxiousness.

Harry looked at her quickly, earlier feelings pushed aside for the moment. "I don't know. I hear something. I-I'm not sure what it is."

He took his ear off the wall and peered into the depths of the cave. Nothing jumped out at him, but he had to know what that sound was. He had to know whether if it was dangerous or not. If it posed a threat then they would beat it out of here. If it was something harmless then they could wait the remainder of their time here in peace till the spell's recall triggered.

Harry stood up. "I'm going to go check it out. I may be nothing but I need to make sure."

"I'm going with you of course," stated Aurora, climbing to her feet smoothly. "There's safety in numbers."

They walked as silent as they could further beyond the mouth of the cave. The cave depths were surprisingly colder the more they walked. Harry prayed that they didn't find anything. Finding safe shelter again like this was unpredictable. What he wouldn't give for his magic to be acting normal. A _lumos_ spell would come in handy right now, he thought grimly, as the light gained a murky tint.

The noise rose in fervor with every footstep. The cave ceiling started to slope upwards till it opened into a giant cavernous room, the size of a coliseum. And it wasn't empty. They stopped on a ledge and looked down at the horrendous sight stretched out before them. Thousands of beings, _creatures_, stood within the space below. Most were taller than a tree stands, covered with flickering eyes all over their pulsating bodies. Goo fell from the eyes, acidic drops that hissed and sizzled against the icy ground as they fell. The other forms were vaguely more humanoid in appearance, only in the fact that they wore strange armor that obscured most of their form. Yet flailing tentacles, flexible and dexterous, jutted out from their sides, and held in their grips were razor edged weapons.

They weren't idly moving about. They were clustered before a gigantic ice throne. At the sight of the creature seated on the throne his heart almost failed him. It was monstrous creature of unimaginable form. Its flickering body was ghostly, and seemed to be made of the howling wind given tangible form. An awful feeling of gathering dread built around him the longer he stared at the creature.

A tugging on his arm caught his attention. He dragged his eyes away from the terrible creature and howling monsters. His stare fell on Aurora's uneasy expression. For the first time he realized that this was what she had feared earlier. Her eyes said enough. _They had to get out of here. Now._

Harry nodded mutely. The faster they got away from here the sooner his skin would stop itching, like it was trying to crawl off his body. This being was ancient in its might and every primal part of him could sense it clearly. Something shifted in the air, and the shadows around them began to bend at strange angles. A lurking fear pressed upon his shoulders.

Aurora grabbed his wrist and tugged him backward. He staggered a step in her direction, but not before seeing the being on the throne look over the lesser creatures, turning those dead eyes directly on them. A **presence** rushed through the cave tunnel, promising something akin to awful fright. They were well and truly fucked. Harry found his legs moving with little urging. He and Aurora took off at a breakneck pace down the tunnel, as if the hounds of Hell were on their heels. If only. What chased them was something a lot more terrifying.

Light shone at the end of the tunnel and the cave mouth appeared. Icy air, like a caress of the frozen north, ghosted across the back of his neck in a warning. Harry gripped Aurora's hand tightly, helping her down the ice covered stairwell.

"Hurry, quickly," Harry urged her, his heart pounding inside his chest.

Aurora moved deftly down the rocks and Harry followed after her, slipping a bit as he trailed after the woman. They jumped the last bit of distance and landed hard on the icy ground. Their feet barely touched before they took off, running for their lives.

"What was that _thing_?" asked Harry in a huff, as he strained to keep pace with the faster Sidhe.

Her stride was effortless, but her distress was apparent in her voice. "A Lord of the Empty Night…The strongest of the Outsiders… This foe is beyond us."

The ground rumbled like the epicenter of an earthquake. **DO NOT THINK THAT YOU CAN ESCAPE MY EYE.**The words came from nowhere and everywhere at once as the Lord of the Empty Night suddenly loomed behind them in all its gigantic otherness. The wind rose in a howl of fury as if spurned on by the Outsider's very presence. Those fathomless eyes seared into his mind and sent an ethereal spike of pain straight to his soul. Harry came to a stop with a skid.

He was still an Auror and the Corps didn't go down without a fight.

Harry reached deep inside his gut for the dark feelings he needed. He took all his pain, his reasons for living, his desire to see the Outsider dead before him, and then balled it up into a powerful fuel.

He aimed his wand high and spat with an angry roughness, "_Avada Kedavra!_"

His magic answered his feelings like a loyal friend, and dark emerald light blasted from his wand in a lance of magic and death. The Killing Curse slammed into the impossibly tall Outsider and instead of staggering back, the power splashed across that broad white chest like water.

_Impossible_. That shouldn't happen, Harry thought desperately. He aimed his wand again and the mighty arm swiped through the air. Clawed fingers dragged into his body, cutting through flesh as the force lifted him up and away into the air.

Excruciating pain flared through his body and he almost blacked out as he hit the ground. Bones cracked and he screamed as his leg bent at an odd angle and then snapped. He coughed up blood and his hands began shaking as shock started to settle in. The claws had torn into his ride side leaving three of his ribs exposed as hot blood poured from his midsection.

The Outsider raised his foot and brought it down directly on Harry. The ground exploded outward as the earth buckled and cratered around the foot. Bright sunshine yellow light began to peak out beneath the foot, growing brighter till the foot was blown away by it. Standing like a Greek statue given life was Aurora, shining like the rising sun, as warm light poured from her hands forming a golden dome around her and Harry.

"It will take more than that to extinguish the light of Summer," Aurora declared, defiantly staring at their attacker.

Power exploded to life abruptly and the familiar esoteric waves thrummed through the area, as the air itself began to fluctuate with the sudden influx of power. The sky shuddered as a hole in space and time was birthed to life from the flickering violet light gathering above their heads. Aurora took hold of Harry's hand.

"Hold on," she said as the portal began to suck them in.

The return trip was just as disconcerting as the first time.

The parlor appeared around them as the portal returned them to exactly the same place they left. Aurora took a staggering step backward as the forces beyond her understanding and control relaxed their hold. Harry lay at her feet gasping for air as the life slowly bled from him, lips turning a dangerous blue against his deathly white face.

She kneeled down next to him, ignoring the blood spreading around her. "You live yet. I can save you…Harry, listen to my words."

He coughed up blood. "S-save…me…"

"Do you accept whatever comes along with it?"

Harry's thoughts slipped and broke with his every breath. He knew he should question it. A small part of him wanted to. The larger part just wanted to live. It took all he had to grunt out an affirmative reply. Her hands clasped his just as the ground shook, and with a crashing sound mixed with screams, the roof above was ripped off with a great heave and flung away.

The Outsider had come through the portal and was greatly angered. He turned his wraith upon them, and the Nevernever distorted around the monstrous form as if it was incapable of holding in all that he was. Aurora managed to deflect his fist that almost smashed them to bits with a ray of light.

The light was joined by another light that fell into the exposed room like a comet. Within the light was a tall woman dressed in a billowing gown. She raised her hands as if in benediction and golden light surged upward. The Lord of the Empty Night met the light with a beam of inky black that poured from his mouth in a scream of rage. The gold and black light met, and Lord of the Empty Night or not this was the realm of Summer, and its Queen would not be defeated in her place of power. The golden ray pulsed, doubling and refocusing, glowing like the morning dawn. The light washed over the mighty being and he was unmade from the biggest piece to the tiniest atom. The light turned him into nothing than less to nothing.

"_Take it freely, freely is it offered… and until death comes…"_

The light faded leaving Aurora still clasping Harry's hands as she whispered under her breath, pouring power and herself into her words. She urged Harry to repeat after her, and he did slowly drifting between life and death but kept in the now by the hands held in his.

"…_shalt have me in thy keeping."_

He screamed feeling a tightening within his chest as an unfamiliar power sizzled through his veins, thrumming and glowing with golden warmth. Something opened inside of Harry, inside of Aurora. It was more like a door and what came out of it was a rush of staggering, scorching and stellar light. They both threw back their heads and screamed as the force opened its mouth and swallowed them whole. It wrapped them tight, hot and familiar, like an old friend or lover.

The power filled Harry to the brim and he took a deep gasp of air sitting up, unhindered and without pain. He looked down at himself, his completely unharmed and completed healed self. His clothes were ripped to hell, but he was mark free as if death hadn't just tried to take him.

Harry stared down in amazement and then at Aurora. "What did you do?"

"My life force runs in you and yours through me," she said with a tired sigh. "We're connected now in a way that transcends death."

Visions of Deathly Hallows and horcruxes flashed across his mind, and he stared at her with unbelievable anger. "You bitch."

The woman took a step forward, amber gown sweeping across the debris littering the floor. He took his first good look at her and blinked at her resemblance to Aurora. The eyes and hair were the same, but the face was wiser and there was a timeless quality about her features.

"You certainly gained a fiery one for a husband, daughter," said Queen Titania with a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "Welcome to the Summer Court, son in law."

He didn't believe her welcome anymore than that chameleon smile.

So he ran.

And he didn't look back…

Surprisingly they let him go. Solaria Garden was in chaos so no one cared that he sprinted from its lands, fleeing back to the mortal realm with his tail between his legs. He spent the better part of a week hiding in his apartment waiting for the Summer Knight to drag him back to court. It was two months after that before he started to leave his apartment without looking over his shoulder or peering into the shadows. For two years he avoided the lands of Faerie, and distanced himself from all things pertaining to them.

He put the Outside in the back of his mind and kept his eye on the purple prize. His home was somewhere out there beyond the Outer Gates. It wasn't hard to ignore the well of power that hovered so tantalizingly close to his own magic. It was warm and bright like the sun and it begged to be noticed. Whatever. It wasn't the first time he had been thrust with someone else's magic, and it wasn't the first time he refrained from using it. He had cheated death once again. Only this time he hadn't come out of it with a free ticket.

He had gained a wife, a future Faerie Queen, whose species viewed mortals as their playthings and manipulation as a favorite past time. Harry had been down that road before. He was going to be no one's toy because Aurora was sidhe, and like it or not, she wanted to use him in some shape or fashion.

"Harry…we're here."

Harry shook himself from his thoughts. They were parked in the back of a building that he vaguely recognized as the Rothchild. She paid the driver and he took off leaving them in the back of an empty lot.

"Elaine…" he began, giving her a look.

She shrugged apologetically. "I guess I should have told you the Summer Court is stationed on the roof."

His eye twitched. "It would have been nice to know."

"No use crying about it," she said, gesturing for him to follow her.

She walked to further into the back of the lot toward a breezeway that was fairly unnoticeable. Harry almost missed it if she hadn't led them to it. Her amulet with its five point star gleamed suddenly, throwing a strobe of blue white light into the air as the breezeway grew steadily darker. The light landed on an elevator that opened when Elaine waved a hand before the doors.

The amulet stopped glowing once they stepped inside the lit space of the elevator. Muzak pumped from the speakers and Elaine reached into her jeans and fished out a little silver key. Instead of a button pad for floor numbers, Elaine slipped the key into a slot and they lifted off.

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Well aren't you just full of surprises today."

"Don't start," said Elaine in her usually tough tone. "I don't like this anymore than you."

She was right. He didn't like this. The doors opened into a scene from the Jungle Book. He stepped onto…grass. The setting sun shined down its light and he frowned at the forest that grew around them. If it weren't for the faint sounds of Chicago underneath the buzz of insects and haunting music of a pipe he could easily believe they had been transported to the Amazon. No doubt the whole roof was under Faerie glamour to protect it from prying mortal eyes.

They waded past hanging vines and overgrown leaves of bushes till they found a well worn path. They followed it to a glade that opened into a mini version of the courtyard of Solaria Garden. Faerie creatures lounged around the open space, sitting on large boulders and stone benches. Satyrs put on a mock swordfight and pixies played in the looking pool. Near a cluster of trees Sidhes painted, a trio of stone statues grouped to their right. Lord Talos and a fierce looking centaur he recognized as Korrick noticed them first, just as they rose from a bow before a twisted wooden throne.

"The Lord Consort," whispered a voice behind him.

Then it spread like wildfire amongst the gathered people. Heads tipped respectfully as he met eyes around the glade. He stifled a groan as even Talos tipped his head. Aurora took Korrick's hand and rose from her wooden throne, garbed in a short dress of butter cream and no shoes. Her almost violent green eyes settled on him, as a slow smile spread across her face.

"Lord Harry," she said, taking joy in the way his shoulders tensed at the title. "What brings my long lost husband back to me?"

He was back in the lion's den. This time running wasn't an option.

* * *

The various Lovecrafthian themes surrounding the Old Ones were used for this chapter, since nothing is really known for sure of Butcher's Old Ones and Outsiders. I don't expect the next part to take as long as to get out. I was working on a project and it took precedence.


	14. Poker Face

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter either. It belongs to its creator J.K. Rowling and probably Warner Bros. too. I'm not too sure about that. This piece of literature is simply the work of a humble fan. I also credit Jim Butcher for various themes, subjects, or references that I may use.

Author Notes: This is a Harry Potter crossover with the Dresden Files the book series. All my knowledge of the Dresden Files comes from the books. I've never seen the TV series. For the timeline that will be stated later. Thanks to the folks at DLP for help with editing.

* * *

**Awaken Sleeper.  
**Chapter Thirteen: Poker Face  
by: Water Mage

Damn Elaine, damn Ronald Reuel for getting himself killed, and damn whoever murdered the knight. He cursed quite a few more names and a deity or two, as Aurora watched him with those piercing eyes that might as well be looking through him, with how intently they pierced him.

Aurora cocked her head. "What, you've forgotten me?"

"Aurora," Harry greeted her with a clipped nod.

He stiffened as she swept him up in a hug. Her skin pressed against his, and he almost gasped at the heat that radiated from her touch like liquid fire and contained energy. Her body molded against his and he was hit by the smell of lilacs, vanilla, and the summer sky after fresh rain. Aurora released him and stepped back.

Harry frowned. "What was that for?"

"You've returned to me like I knew you eventually would."

Elaine stepped forward. "He's with me, Aurora. Harry's helping to find Ronald's killer."

The Summer Lady waved her hand and Elaine's mouth snapped shut, as Aurora effectively dismissed her rebuttal. She padded in a circle around the wizard, taking in every part of him like a vulture about to descend on its prey. Harry swallowed, fingers twitching to reach for the wand in his back pocket. Sweat trickled at his neckline as her stare pressed against him like sunbeams. He was hot and more uncomfortable than he could ever recall being in recent years.

Harry met her stare as she completed her circle, standing before him with an unreadable expression. "I didn't come here for a reunion, Aurora."

"Yet we're having one anyway," she countered smoothly, plucking one thin eyebrow.

Touché. He rolled his eyes. "How about you and I do this song and dance after you and Elaine get all caught up?" He raised his chin and said boldly, "I'm done running. It's been two years and we have unfinished business."

Something like triumph briefly flashed in her eyes. "My pleasure." She turned around and walked back to her wooden throne. Aurora took her seat, and folded her dainty looking hands in her lap. Finally she took those inhuman eyes off Harry, and turned her attention on Elaine. "What news do you have for me, Elaine?"

"We searched Ronald's home and found a lot of it destroyed. Someone beat us there to get rid of incriminating evidence. We did manage to find a note that could lead to a potential friend of Ronald's who may know something. I need to put together a tracking spell to find them."

Aurora leaned back in her throne, digesting the information. "Did you meet with Winter's Emissary in this matter? I was told Mab had appointed one."

"We've met," said Elaine, her tone lacking emotion.

No doubt she was bitter that the Courts were pitting two childhood friends together. Harry would have masked his true feelings too, since he would have been tempted to sling magic as well as a few choice words on the subject.

"Were they competent?" asked Aurora.

Elaine nodded, traces of vulnerability finally showing through the cracks in her mask. "Yes… he is. We've come to an understanding. He's a wizard, like me."

"Of course," replied Aurora with a half smile. "Winter and Summer are two sides of the same coin. There must always be balance in our affairs." Her smile slipped away, gone with the swiftest speed. "Ronald Reuel was a fine knight, and he'll be missed, but there's something that comes before seeking his murderer."

"His mantle of power," concluded Harry.

Aurora pursed her lips, regarding them both with a grim frown. "A missing portion of Summer's power cannot go overlooked for much longer. Already a council of war is being called."

"How long do I have before a full-scale war?" asked Elaine.

The Summer Lady gazed up at the fading twilight as if the darkening sky held the answers. Aurora shrugged one shoulder and answered, "Days, I imagine. Three days at the most." She gestured and Talos stepped forward from the crowd of gathered nobles. "Talos will help you with your tracking spell. I don't have to tell you that the upmost speed is needed."

Elaine bowed her head respectfully. "With the Lord Marshall's help it'll be done in half the time it would normally take."

She turned to leave and Harry stepped to follow her. He turned around and came face to face with a pair of armored sidhe carrying long spears with wicked sharp tips. He glared into feline eyes framed by intricately crafted helms. A growl left his lips as the two opposing sides eyed each other. Elaine stiffened beside him. He caught sight of the throng of fae eyeing the scene with open interest.

Harry glared at the guards. "Can I help you guys?"

Aurora cleared her throat, bringing Harry's attention to her. "You're not going anywhere until we're done. We have much to discuss."

Harry glared at her. "That sounds suspiciously like an order."

"Call it what you will."

"I don't take orders from you Aurora," said Harry coldly. He prepared himself for an unexpected attack. "I said we'll talk but I'm not your prisoner. I'll fight you and whoever stands in front of the exit."

Harry reached to his back pocket for his wand and came up empty. Panic exploded in his chest, and Aurora met his eyes. The Summer Lady held up her hand and between her fingers was his wand. She twirled the stick, smiling at his shock. He groaned as realization set in. Of course that hug earlier hadn't been just an affectionate gesture. She pick pocketed him like a Bangkok hooker. _Merlin's might_, he hated faeries.

"You really should be more careful, dear husband," she chided, still twirling his wand like a toy.

Instead of letting the panic consume him, Harry adopted a smirk. He reached deep down for that power allowing him minor control over his body's position in local time and space. Right as he was about to apparate from here to there and snatch his wand, Harry stilled. He swore inwardly, scowling, as he recognized the telltale feeling of anti-apparation wards. Whatever hid this place from prying eyes also had the side effect of preventing apparation. Well wasn't this just his unlucky day.

The fight left him and he sighed, resigned. "Fine. Let's go have that chat. Looks like I don't have much a choice, do I?"

Aurora nodded her head. "I'm glad you've come to your senses."

Riight. He rolled his eyes at her pleased smile. Elaine gave him a look, and he shook his head. He would be alright, he hoped. It was with heavy footsteps that he followed the guards down the path to the elevator. Aurora entered into the lift behind him, biding the guards to leave as the doors closed.

"So can I have my wand back?" asked Harry. He sighed as Aurora raised her eyebrow. "I won't skip out. You want to talk, well so do I. But I won't be held like some prisoner."

"You're not my prisoner," Aurora stated, frowning. She met his eyes. "You have no idea what it means to be a prisoner of Summer. To imply you're one is ignorance of how Summer _truly_ treats its enemies."

The way she said it made him pause. Harry stared at her for a long time. It was considered the Summer Court was more benevolent and kind than that of Winter, but it was understood they were both equally dangerous. Winter just happened to show their true colors up front. Summer hid their soulless nature behind smiles and soft words. Because of that it was easy to forget just how traitorous and inhuman the Seelie really were. She just reminded him.

"Do you fear me, Harry?" asked Aurora, tilting her head curiously.

He wondered just how long it took her to perfect the human action. The question itself was one he hadn't been asked in a long time. After walking to his death and sacrificing himself all those years ago, Harry had long given up on being afraid of the boogeyman. He knew what came after death and he wasn't afraid. His goal was to take as many bastards out with him. Rule three in Auror basic training, derived from Mad Eye Moody of course.

Aurora nodded at his silence. "Your silence is answer enough. Good choice."

He held out his hand and they eyed each other as she passed the wand back to its rightful owner. Harry slipped it back into his pocket. He wasn't going to hex her. At least not at this point in time.

"In the future if I say I'm going to do something, I'll do it," advised Harry. "There's no need to have your guards flex their muscles at me."

Her face twisted in wry amusement. "That's funny. From what I remember you were the one who ran from me two minutes after the Vow of Clasped Hands."

"I reacted that way for damn good reason. You didn't just heal me, Aurora. You pumped me full of Summer fire and joined our spirits," he said, anger rising quick in his voice. "That's some dark shit where I'm from. Very dark." Memories flashed across his mind, fleeting and swift. "You messed with my soul. I'm surprised it's still intact with the way inconsiderate bastards keep on fiddling with it."

"I saved your life. How I did it is a mere technicality."

"Technicality," Harry deadpanned.

"Aren't you tired of being angry?" she asked softly, her voice smooth like velvet. "Let it go. Carrying all that rage inside is weighing you down. You live so cherish that."

Harry snorted. "Too bad the cost of living is so steep." He made a show of tapping his chin with an exaggerated thoughtfulness. "The thing that gets me is I don't see how you benefit from this. I've been thinking over that little question for two years."

"I get you."

Harry froze, his heart beating loudly in his throat. "What?"

"I get you," she repeated, and a slow smile spread across her lips. "All of you."

Why did that sound the least bit positive? From the lips of a prostitute sure it could have sounded endearing. But the sidhe before him played for keeps, and he had a feeling she was trying to keep _him_. The elevator came to a sudden stop and the soft chime of the doors opening broke the moment.

They stepped out into a foyer that had white marble floors and abstract paintings covering the cream painted walls. Harry took a step forward and the lights above flickered. At the same time there was a whooshing noise, and the air in front of him wavered. He took a step back as four people appeared out of nowhere. The three men and woman were dressed in identical cat suits of black that molded to their bodies like a second skin. They were all Asian. And pissed. Their stone cold expressions were the only hint he needed to determine that.

The shortest man stepped forward. He looked like he could be Cho Chang's brother. Except Cho's eyes never looked so eerily detached, almost dead. He bowed shortly before Aurora.

"The Jade Court means no ill will to come to you and yours, Summer Lady," Not Cho's brother said in a clipped English accent. "We come for the man who has wronged us, nothing more and nothing less."

A bomb of emotions exploded in Harry's chest. How had they found him, and here of all places? His thoughts flashed quickly as he processed a plan. He glanced at Aurora to see how she was taking the vampire's whole speech. Surely, this didn't factor in whatever plan she had for Harry. No way was she going to let some vampires come and whisk him away—

"The dealings of human and anthrophage do not concern the Summer Court."

Bitch. Harry sent her glare that she merely blinked innocently at.

Not Cho's brother slid his gaze to Harry. "You took something that belongs to Lord Zhu, and he would like to have a talk with you."

"Oh, really," drawled Harry, looking like he didn't have a care in the world. "Well you'll have to forgive me if I don't come quietly." He moved suddenly, wand slicing through the air with determination. "_Avada Kedavra!_"

The vampires moved as the green light flashed. It struck Not Cho's brother head on and he fell over, dead. As the dead body touched the floor, the vampires attacked. They lunged at him with a frightening speed that caught him off guard. A kick to the chin sent him staggering back, followed by a blow to the gut which put him on his ass.

The female vampire dove at his fallen form, nails lengthened into terrible claws. Surprise flashed across her face as her claws encountered no resistance. His body rippled and vanished with a poof of misty air. Harry apparated behind her as the illusion fell. Her surprised expression was etched forever across her face as a Sectumsempra cleaved the head clean from her shoulders.

A cry of pain left him as he felt his back explode in agony. Harry stumbled and didn't see the vampire in front till a fist connected with his face. The hit drew a surprising amount of blood and knocked at least several of his teeth loose. A ruby-like shield appeared blocking the next punch aimed for his head. Spots swam in his vision, but Harry pushed himself to keep going. Adrenaline pumped in his veins and he flicked his wand sharply.

Slashes of blue light cut through the air. They were agile and nimble enough to dodge the attack. One streak of light however hit true and pale pink blood arced through the air, as the spell seared open flesh. Another curse picked the wounded vampire up and slammed him into the wall, and he crumpled into it hard.

Harry quickly cast an endurance charm on himself. It was temporary but it provided a boost of duly needed stamina. The wounded vampire was still down for the count, but his twin surveyed him like a last meal. His skin stretched tightly over his face, bones protruding through the thin scrap of flesh. Unnatural gold eyes blazing with hunger watched Harry closely.

"There's no more running," stated the vampire. "No mortal has ever escaped the Jade King."

Panting, tired, and hurt. Fuck, did he hurt. Harry rolled his shoulders and smirked, blood dripping from his split bottom lip and cut under his eye. "I already escaped. You have to catch me, and good luck with that by the way."

The vampire sneered and picked up a table that was as long as he was tall, sending the antiqued ivory dishes shattering against the floor. He then hefted it one handed like a spear and then proceeded to use it as such. It hurtled through the air toward the wizard. Harry cast a propulsion charm and the concussive force of the spell met the table and it exploded in a shower of wood.

Harry was ready for the vampire to come rushing out of the rain of wood. A torrent of fire blasted from his wand, lashing through the space between them. The funnel of fire died as the wounded vampire unknowingly recovered, and coming from Harry's blindside, slammed into him with a shoulder check. The other vampire jumped forward through the flame free air, and grabbed Harry by the throat. His momentum carried them back into a wall and Harry hit so hard, he could have sworn his spine turned into silly putty as his already injured back blazed with white hot pain.

"Aurora…" he croaked out, dizzily looking into the monstrous faces that clawed at his skin.

Fingers pressed against his cheekbones, and he felt exhaustion race along his veins like ice till it became painful. The vampire holding his throat moaned as Harry's life-force left his lips in a silvery vapor, winding its way into the creature's greedy mouth.

Vision dimming, Harry managed a desperate whisper, "…Help."

There was a burst of golden light that shined in the room like a captive star. The hand holding Harry's throat released him and he fell on the flood with great heaving breaths, as his energy and body tried to recover from the assault. Aurora stepped forward. An aura of warm light shined around her. She looked like the powerful faerie queen she really was.

"You lied," hissed the vampire that once held Harry. His comrade stood at his side, body tense and ready. "You said our affairs with the human didn't concern you."

Aurora shook her head. "The fae don't lie. Human and vampire matters hold no interest to Summer, but that man isn't wholly human and his value to Summer is more than you know."

Her voice rang with a note of finality that they didn't miss. The vampires leaped toward her and the aura around Aura shined brighter. The rays of light stabbed the vampires through chest. Screams filled the air as the fury of Summer burned them from existence. Ash fell to the ground where they once stood, as the light consumed every bit of their being. The light faded as it sucked back in on itself.

Aurora took a deep breath and closed her eyes as the manifestation of her powers dissipated. The last thing Harry saw was her face hovering close to his. Warm lips touched his own, and a surge of heat flooded his body and chased him into unconsciousness.

Harry snapped awake with a gasp of air. His hands flew to his face, and shock hit him at feeling smooth skin and not an ounce of pain. He did a quick inventory, moving his arms and legs experimentally. He was healed. There was a scratch here and there, but they were faded pink lines that would disappear in time. He took stock of his surroundings. He was lying in a huge bed centered in a room that looked like it had been plucked from Buckingham Palace. Aurora sat next to him on the grand bed.

"I healed you and once again saved your life."

Aurora sat on the bed, gentle fingers twisting his wand in her grip. He eyed the stick and dipped his head. "I was unprepared for how fast they were. I appreciate the help."

He frowned, replaying the fight in his head. He wouldn't go down so hard next time. Now that he knew they were on his trail he would be ready. Harry looked up when he noticed Aurora watching him.

"What?"

Aurora lifted an eyebrow. "If you hadn't run from me two years ago, then you would've known that my help was always available to you."

Harry shrugged. It looked like it was time for that chat. "Honestly, I'm surprised you didn't just have your men drag me back. I didn't reckon you would let me go for this long."

"Then it would get out that my husband is rogue," she said, coolly. "A stigma I will not be branded with— although the nobles are beginning to gossip on your whereabouts."

So she was trying to save face. Fair enough. The Sidhe loved their games and politics. "If you care about what they think so much then why did you bind us? Why do I have Summer power beating deep in my chest like a second heart?"

Her eyes lit up. "You can feel it then?"

She reached out and Harry gasped as her fingers touched his forearm. Her touch was the same heat he felt earlier when their flesh connected, but this time the well of power within him jumped. It recognized the echoing power within her and it danced under her fingertips. He shuddered as energy jumped just under his skin. It was like his magic, but hot like basking in the noontime sun. Heat poured in his veins and left him recharged. Her eyes met his and Harry snatched his arm from her reach, panting.

"What the hell was that?" he demanded, reining in his deep breathing.

Aurora gave a chuckle and said gently, "The bit of Summer in you knows where it comes from, and it was saying hello."

"Power isn't sentient," responded Harry automatically. "It simply is."

"You've never really beheld all of nature then," she said as if that was answer enough. Her lips formed into a pretty little frown. "All this time and you've never used the power bestowed from our union."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Cut the crap. You and I both know that you can track Summer power like a dog sniffing out a bone. I wasn't out to get found." With a sigh he ran a hand through his hair. "Since some of us were near dead when it was formed what exactly is this thing or whatever that jump started my life."

"You were in death's chains when I grabbed you tight and ripped you away with all that I am," said Aurora, moving further on the bed so she was closer. He didn't miss the action. "My essence merged with yours and shared its life-force and power with you till you were whole. Your essence clung to my mine, so that when it withdrew back it took a piece of me with it. The Vow of Clasped Hands creates the link for such an occurrence and –"

"Has a side effect of marrying us," he interjected, a touch of scorn in his voice. "Not that I'm not grateful for the get out of dying free ticket. I am."

It's just that something was missing from her story. He was sure of it. She wasn't lying. Faeries couldn't freely lie, but there was just too much benevolence in her actions that made him squirm. No matter how much the Seelie portrayed the niceness it was just that, a portrayal. He was still uncertain how any of her actions benefited her. There had to be a catch.

Harry narrowed his eyes. "You're hiding something."

"What makes you so sure," she replied with a little smile.

"Because nothing is free with you people," he said, frustration riding high on his nerves. "Tell me what you're getting out of this."

Aurora licked her lips, her eyes trained on the wand in her fingers. She turned it over and over, seemingly entranced by the stick of wood. "The spell you used earlier, the green light that killed that vampire. What was it?"

Wow. Way to change the subject. He decided to humor her. The faster he indulged her, the quicker he could get back on topic, and it's not like she hadn't already seen the spell in effect before.

"It's called the Killing Curse. It's pretty much unstoppable." Except for me, he didn't say. "Two words and anything hit by it falls dead. Anything."

Her eyes gleamed and her earnest appreciation of the wand increased. "Interesting. How did that spell go again?"

Wariness didn't creep up on him. It slammed into him like a brick wall. He reached for the wand as she nodded decisively, "….Oh yes." Her arm whipped through the air, and she pointed the wand directly behind her at the empty air. "_Avada Kedavra!"_

The customary green light blazed through the room in a rush of wind and light. A thud followed a heartbeat later. A body materialized at the foot of the bed and fell over, dead. Harry rolled off the bed, and almost tripped as the sheets tangled around his legs.

"You—you—" Impossible was on the tip of his tongue, but he had just bloody seen that it was very well possible. Something like disbelief and confusion swelled in his lungs, catching his breath and confounding his thoughts. Realization hit him a moment later filling him with a rage that made him see red. "You _bitch!_"

Aurora slid off the bed in one fluid motion and walked over to the body. She barely spared Harry a glance as she surveyed the dead man.

"Look at me," demanded Harry, stalking to her. She lazily looked up, meeting his eyes with a bored gaze. "That's what you got out of it, huh? A piece of Summer clung to me and a portion of my wizardry clung to you. You knew that would happen!"

"It's an unprecedented event, but I speculated it was a possibility."

He didn't believe that no more than he believed she knew what it really felt like to love. Aurora turned her stare back to the body, and he got his first good look at the dead man. No it wasn't a man. It was a Sidhe. Long white hair in a thick braid fell over his tunic that opened to reveal bulging pectorals. A heavy looking sword lay fallen at his feet. Aurora kicked at the sheathed blade, her lip curled up in a disdainful sneer as she studied the dead fae.

"You know him?" asked Harry.

She nodded silently, staring at the body with contempt. "This is Yahkphrust. If the Winter Queen needs someone spied upon or killed, he's the one to do it. He's her personal assassin. She calls him her Final Frost."

"And you killed him," he bluntly stated.

"He was a bane to the Summer Court for over a millennium. Like all fae he gains power from influence in the mortal world. Human minds gave him strength by remembering him in their tales. Jokul Frosti, Father Frost, Jack Frost." She sneered at the fallen sidhe. "He deserved worst for his actions while in servitude to the dark court."

While she was too busy waxing hate for the assassin, Harry snatched his wand from her grip. "I'm done. I'm going to find Elaine and solve this thing before your folk doom the world. After that you'll never have to see—"

"Oh, we're not done yet," Aurora murmured, facing him. "Our business is hardly concluded, husband."

He eyed her cautiously, wondering if the other shoe finally dropped. "What do you want?"

"I helped you with the vampires and I healed your body, and now," she said, stepping forward. Aurora grabbed his wrist in a deceptively loose grip. "Now its payback time. The Summer Queen has called a meeting of the high court. Attendance is mandatory." She showed teeth when she smiled this time and he shivered. "That means you too, dear husband."

Harry frowned, weighing his options. He could apparate now and be free of her, but that would probably piss her off and he didn't fancy running into a faerie queen with a grudge in the future. He knew why she wanted his cooperation. She didn't want the court to know he was 'rogue'. Whatever that meant. Harry must have taken too long to answer because her grip tightened.

"Fine. I'll go and play nice," said Harry begrudgingly, wondering if he had sentenced himself to death row.

Aurora's lips quirked and before he could utter a protest his clothes shifted. Dark breeches of an unfamiliar cloth covered his lower half with tall black boots that ended at his knees. A heavily embroidered tunic of soft gold and white piping covered his upper body.

Certain parts of him felt a bit cramped in the breeches. He groaned at her approving smirk. "Is the wardrobe change necessary?"

"Very."

Harry stared at her hard. "You knew the Jade Court had made it inside the hotel didn't you? You knew they were outside the elevator the whole time." He shook his head as it all became clear. "You were counting on my asking for help so you could call in this favor, and make me go with you."

Aurora pouted cutely. "Would I really do something like that?"

"Yes."

"What's done is done," she said dismissively, gesturing at the air. "Let's be off."

At her wordless command the air parted. It simply fell away as the natural walls between worlds fled before Summer power. A rectangular portal appeared before them that led into a corridor on its other side. It was a well lit hallway, and the walls had a golden shimmer to them that matched the polished stone floor. Aurora stepped through first and with a firm grip on Harry's wrist he was tugged along behind her.

The portal closed once they were through, and he hardly noticed as he took in the sights around them. The corridor had opened into an atrium that was just as grand if not more so than the one in the Ministry of Magic. Sidhe and lesser fae walked amongst each other, dipping their head when they caught sight of Aurora, then continued about their business. An impressive fountain made of precious stones was positioned in the center throwing crystalline water into the air.

Three huge statues towered up to the domed ceiling. Two of the statues rested adjacent to each other and represented an elderly faerie queen, her stern gaze trained on the entrance where they stood. The neighboring statue was of a younger sidhe and her youth showed in the polished full lips and high cheekbones made of shining alabaster. The third statue stood directly between the others, and it was same height as the other towering statues. Whether because of its position or the light that fell directly on it, the figure glowed like a beacon, radiating a warm golden light that was impossible to look away from.

"The three Queens of Summer," murmured Harry aloud. "What is this place?"

"Lux Sanctum. Stronghold and home to Queen Titania." Aurora took a step forward, and seeing Harry didn't move she turned a teasing grin on him. "Come. Nothing will bite you…unless you ask first."

Harry followed her keeping silent as other fae nodded to him like they did to Aurora. It was oddly reminiscent of his days in the wizarding world. He swallowed heavily once they came to their end of walking through a maze of corridors. Aurora knocked on a heavy looking oak door. They entered into a parlor that was done in shades of cream, rose, and white. Queen Titania stood over a table intently studying a map that covered its entire surface.

"Mother," Aurora greeted with a short bow.

The last time Harry saw Titania she had been destroying an Outsider that he managed to bring into her territory. He gained his first good look of her this time, and he found his breath escape him. Her green eyes were the brightest green he had ever seen, brighter than his or his mother's eyes. A triple ring of green, each of a different hue, went around her pupil. Where Aurora's hair was straight, Titania's long hair fell down her back in a waterfall of soft waves. The bodice of her butter cream colored gown hugged her tight and showed a tantalizing bit of cleavage, before it flared out into a full and thick skirt. Her skin shone like polished ivory and her lips were the color of fresh roses. Seeing his stare those lips turned up at the corner.

Her voice was a low, rich contralto. "Hello, daughter. I'm glad to see your husband before me once again." She turned those startling eyes on Harry. "Greetings, my daughter's husband."

Harry wasn't a manner-less idiot. Hogwarts had an optional etiquette class that was taught twice a month on Sunday afternoons. Hermione had dragged Ron and Harry to classes during the times surrounding her birthday. She claimed it was their gift to her if they could have a little more class.

"Greetings, Queen Titania, Ruler of all Seelie, Monarch of the Summer Court, mother of my wife."

The title was a mouthful but if there was one thing he learned in those classes it was flattery goes a long way. That's exactly what he planned to do. Mind his manners, smile till his face cracked and flatter everyone until someone's head blew up. He had done the same thing she had during the greeting. He acknowledged their kinship, but not their familial relationship to one another. Until she named him son, he couldn't call her mother. Honestly he really didn't want to, but he had to play the game. Even if he did find it all terribly tiresome.

Titania stared him down and then nodded at Aurora. "He's had some training. Good." She looked at Harry again with an expression he couldn't decipher. "You'll need that training for our meeting with the high court."

He didn't know if he should say thanks, so he just stayed silent.

"War with Winter looms on the horizon." Queen Titania walked across the room, and they followed behind her as she went to a door. "The high court has assembled in the chamber beyond this door." She looked directly at Harry and said, "We must present a unified front. To do anything else would sow the seeds of discontent."

Go against us and see what happens went unsaid, but he could hear it nonetheless in the silence that followed.

"Those are wise words, my queen," he said smoothly.

She smiled. "See to it that you don't forget them."

The door opened and there wasn't a trumpeter or much fanfare as they entered. The chamber was dominated by a long rectangular pool of clear blue water. U shaped chairs made of polished stone went around the pool. At the top of the pool stood a golden throne, with two smaller ivory thrones to its right. As one the nobles in the room rose from their chairs, keeping their backs bowed until those entering took their seats on the thrones.

The nobles sat once they did, and Harry gazed around at the faces that casually studied him in return. He was beginning to feel a bit like the ugly cousin in the room. They were the court of beauty for a reason. They wore elaborate clothes of bright colors, and so much jewelry that it should be illegal. There wasn't an ugly or average looking one in the bunch. They radiated perfection.

"Its no surprise that war is upon us," began Titania immediately. "The Summer Knight was murdered in his own home, and his mantle of power has been stolen. It reeks of Winter's treachery. We will not let this go unpunished."

There were nods of agreement and claps as Harry surveyed the court. A slim sidhe female with hair the color of the setting sun spoke over the noise. "My lands border Winter, and Mab's forces have been seen across the border more and more these days. Earlier this day, my army slaughtered a raiding party attacking one of the smaller settlements near my own home."

"Winter filth," spat a green haired woman next to her. "It cannot be borne!"

Aurora pursed her lips. "I have news as well of Winter's foulness. Yahkphrust was caught spying on me today in my domain in the mortal realm."

Anger clouded Titania's face. "What of him?"

"I killed him," she said, simply.

The reply left the people in the room shocked. From what Aurora said Jack Frost was a force to be reckoned with. A clear fact if that someone was the killing hand to the Queen of Air and Darkness herself. Harry saw the satisfaction at the announcement written all over Titania's face.

A sidhe lord with fire engine red hair spoke over the silence, "You killed the Final Frost?"

"You said that with the right tone and words, yet at the same time you still managed to sound extremely skeptical. Would you like a demonstration, Alastar?" said Aurora, studying him with a fixed smile that didn't reach her eyes.

Alastar lowered his eyes, and said sweet as honey, "My apologies if I offended you, my lady. "

If Alastar would have looked at the queen he would have noticed her expression was not amused. Harry didn't know her at all and even he could tell she was not happy with him, not happy at all.

Harry watched as the pool started to shimmer. In the waves images flickered to life. Trolls and ogres with fairies swirling around their heads gathered in force, as they mustered at the edge of a dense, wicked looking forest. Their numbers grew more and more as they readied crossbows and heavy looking clubs. Forges worked in overtime churning out weapons with speedy efficiency.

"They're stacking their numbers at the border as the day grows long," said Titania, watching the pool closely. "We need to reinforce the border."

"I can send three squadrons to the border by dusk," said a sidhe lady with emerald hair that matched Harry's eyes. "I can have more soldiers tomorrow once the call is sent out."

"In three days time Midsummer will be upon us and our strength will be at its peak," said Titania. "Then we will strike and lay waste to Winter. Mab will rue the day she hatched this evil plan."

"Will the Lord Consort be leading troops into battle like the Queens?" asked Alastar.

Harry studied the man's smiling face, and tried to decide if the man was sincere or was it an opening for a trap. He was betting it was the second one. The honest curiosity was a little too open for one of the court of illusion, and his body language was just as telling.

Harry kept his face perfectly blank. "I'll do the part my lady asked of me."

"And what part is that?"

"My duty is to find the culprit behind the Knight's death, and locate the missing mantle of Summer power."

Alastar stared at Harry, a small frown forming between his brows. "A lofty task for one who has been missing from Faerie for two years."

Irritation started to bubble in his gut and Harry beat back a sigh. His expression didn't betray him. The polite blank expression still held. As long as he didn't think of ways he wanted to curse the sidhe lord's face off, then he wouldn't have an outburst.

"Don't mistake my absence for a weakness or fault," said Harry. "I'm perfectly capable of this task." He trained cool eyes on the lord, staring him down. "I'll conquer all challenges aimed at me."

Queen Titania nodded at Harry, and he noticed the amusement playing across her face. "My son's absence is not the purpose of this council."

Harry kept his surprise from showing. She called him son. He must have pleased her with that little tete-a-tete. Hell, he pleased himself. He was beyond annoyed and bored with this whole thing.

Alastar wasn't done yet. "Will we not acknowledge the Lord Consort's two year absence? Rumor has it that he's rogue."

There were gasps and startled mutterings from the nobles. Aurora stiffened next to him, and Harry saw the way she was white knuckling the arms of her chair. Either she was scared shitless of the topic conversation, or she was a moment away from unleashing hell on the uppity lord.

"Again, the purpose of this council is about the upcoming war," said Aurora, attempting to grab the reins from the disgruntled lord.

He continued as if he didn't hear. "I do not misremember the last rogue. His silver tongue and betraying eyes stay with me forever just as his name. The future is repeating the past and Oberon—"

Queen Titania lashed out with her power. It tore a gasp from all their throats followed by desperate screams. Her power filled the room and it became impossible to draw an easy breath, as fire pressed along their lungs like liquid waves. Harry grabbed at his eyes. He couldn't see or move. All he knew was light, a amber light that was everywhere.

The light cleared and Harry was almost afraid to look at the lord. He did and was surprised Alastar was still alive. Barely alive was more appropriate. Alastar's skin was burnt as if he went dancing in fire and then passed out still in it. His hair was blackened in spots, scorched red skin peeked through with bald patches, and that wasn't the worse. Alastar lay on the ground flat on his back, convulsing as if he was in the throes of a deadly seizure.

Titania rose up to her feet surveying the still room with calm eyes. "Anything related to Oberon is forbidden, and if someone brings it up again I will demonstrate why I rule these lands. I open the floor to any other questions."

Of course no one spoke up.

Harry shuddered at the opaque and serene smile Titania blinded them with. "Meeting adjourned."

The nobles made no move to help Alastar. They stepped either over or around his shaking body, leaving the room without a sound. Harry swallowed, rubbing his forearms to fight the chills crawling along his skin. No mortal should be so close to such power. And it was only a fraction of what she was capable of. He would be an idiot to not be terrified of Titania. He schooled his face into that crafted blank expression as Titania faced him, souless eyes empty of anything human.

"You and my emissary have three days to find the missing mantle. Fail me, fail the people of your world. The effects of our battle will kill them all."

Harry bowed his head, partially in respect and also to look away from the fire swirling in those green eyes. "I will see your will done, my queen."

_Merlin's might_. Welcome to the family.


	15. Baby, It's Cold Outside

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter either. It belongs to its creator J.K. Rowling and probably Warner Bros. too. I'm not too sure about that. This piece of literature is simply the work of a humble fan. I also credit Jim Butcher for various themes, subjects, or references that I may use.

Author Notes: This is a Harry Potter crossover with the Dresden Files the book series. All my knowledge of the Dresden Files comes from the books. I've never seen the TV series. Timeline is mostly set during Summer Knight. Thanks to the folks at DLP for help with editing.

* * *

**Awaken Sleeper.  
**Chapter Fourteen: Baby, It's Cold Outside  
by: Water Mage

Harry stumbled into his hotel room in the dead of night. He kicked the long boots off with a sigh of relief as his feet tasted cool air. Who knew faeries were so long winded. Harry spent hours being shown around Lux Sanctum, seeing the full-scale might of the Summer stronghold, and meeting the fae within. He had seen through the grand tour and knew Aurora was purposefully showing him off, as to erase any lingering doubt of his status as rogue. He asked her what exactly a rogue was, and her reply was a cryptic comment of "a death sentence" was enough to make him know that it was a very bad thing to be.

He poured a tumbler full of whiskey from the mini bar and downed it in one gulp. The liquid burned going all the way down. He smacked his lips with a sigh. Harry closed his eyes, rolling his neck and stretching with an accompanied satisfied pop. He hadn't had a day this long in a long time. Yawning he climbed into bed, and glared at the clock. It was a little passed three thirty in the morning.

"Tomorrow's going to suck," he mumbled, sleepily.

He closed his eyes and fell into sleep.

A persistent banging interrupted the deep sleep of slumber seconds later. Drifting in that halfway state between sleeping and waking Harry groaned as the banging continued, louder this time. Finally he snapped open his eyes and glanced at the clock. It was fifteen minutes after nine. Six hours of sleep. Could be worse. Morning sunshine filtered determinedly through the thin white curtains covering the floor to ceiling windows.

"Alright, I'm coming," he muttered sourly, padding across the space separating him from the front door.

He caught a pair of gray eyes and wheat brown hair. He rolled his eyes and opened the door. Elaine stepped into the room, then stopped and stared. Her eyes racked over his bare chest and lower half covered only by a thin pair of cotton boxers.

"See something you like?" asked Harry coyly, or tried to, since he yawned loudly right after the come on.

Elaine cocked her head. "You have Burberry underwear?"

"Yeah, so?" Harry asked, locking the door behind her. "You want to borrow a pair or something?"

"Your boxers cost more than my whole outfit," said Elaine slowly.

Harry yawned again scratching at his stomach. "If you woke me up just to talk about how thrifty you are then I'm going back to sleep."

Elaine narrowed her eyes at his comment and took a seat on the couch. Harry walked back to the bedroom and slipped on a pair of khaki pants and a dark blue t-shirt. He started the coffee maker and joined Elaine on the sofa as the drifting aroma of brewing coffee filled the air.

"So I heard you had an eventful time at Lux Sanctum yesterday," said Elaine.

Harry sighed. "Let's just say I've married into quite the family. Did you find that friend of Ronald's with the tracking spell?"

"Her names Meryl," replied Elaine. "She and her Changeling buddies were under Ronald's protection since Winter has rule over them until they Choose. It's the court of their faerie parent so they have no say until they make a choice."

He scratched his chin, thoughtful. "Changeling is a half mortal and half fae. They have the choice to remain a mortal or become completely fae."

Elaine looked at him slyly. "Like you and Aurora's future children."

"Don't even joke about that," said Harry through gritted teeth.

She patted his knee and looked at him with exaggerated sympathy. "Too soon?"

He shoved her hand off his knee and groaned, "Can we please get back on subject. So what did this Changeling Meryl know?"

"Nothing. She was kind of standoffish. A friend of hers, another Changeling, Lily, is missing. Then, with Ronald's death… They're all hurting."

At the sound of that name a fleeting image of his mother flashed behind his eyelids. He banished the thought and then frowned. "What if this Lily girl knows something? Kind of suspicious that she goes missing right as Ronald dies wouldn't you say?"

"It's a possibility," said Elaine hesitantly.

A beep came from the kitchen as the coffee maker finished. She stood up and crossed the room to go fetch a cup. Handing him a mug, Elaine sat down on the couch with her own mug of steaming coffee. She took a sip and leaned back into the cushions.

"Word is that Aurora had a couple dead vampires thrown to the wyldfae to bribe them into heeding Summer's Call instead of Winter's for the war."

The wyldfae were like the free agents of the faeries. They were decidedly neutral until a Call went out, and they could choose to either work for Summer or Winter. Some enjoyed flesh like humans dug chicken. He was sure they enjoyed that little tasty offering.

"You know anything about that little contribution? Vampires usually don't mess with the faeries. Not after the Trinity stopped them the one time they tried to take the fae down."

"The Trinity?" asked Harry. "As in holy, comma, the?"

She snorted. "As in the G-men: Gutenberg and the Grimms. Back in the day they spread the folklore and fairy tales everyone knows now. They're responsible for increasing faerie influence in the human world."

Harry shrugged. "I might've had something to do with the vampires. They tried to jump me and I killed two and Aurora helped, making dust of the last two."

Elaine raised her eyebrow. "You needed help? What, you have an off day or something?"

He scowled at her mocking tone, and tried to ignore the flush of his cheeks. "Shut up. We all can't be kickass everyday. I should've fought smarter. It won't happen again."

Her eyebrows rose at his dark tone and she cleared her throat and changed the subject. "So we only have two days till Midsummer now." She looked increasingly uncomfortable as she said the next bit, "The Winter Queens are to be questioned today."

Harry leaned forward, frowning. "That shouldn't be a big deal right? We're going with Summer's protection."

Elaine shook her head. "Mab doesn't have the title Queen of Air and Darkness for no reason, Harry. The protection won't buy us much if we overstep our bounds. A war is coming anyway. She's not a power to be crossed. Don't go in there thinking we're safe.

He nodded, showing his understanding. Elaine was the one who had spent over a decade chumming with the fae. Harry was the one who had spent three years running from anything faerie related. He did know that lying was easier in the Summer Court, since they were into illusion. It was why he had been able to successfully flatter Titania so much without being slapped yesterday. She was used to it. The Winter Court was more direct. Mab would see right through his smile and sweet words, and probably freeze his fingers off.

Harry nodded. "Trust me. I know. I barely think I'm safe in Aurora's own court, and I'm supposed to be the Summer Lord."

Elaine smirked. "So, do you have any heavy coats?"

The geography of the Nevernever is not the same as the regular land of the mortal world. Spots where the two worlds touched had a sort of kinship of sympathetic energy. You could be at a hospital and the portion of the Nevernever that touched would lead to an entirely different portion of the spirit world if you would enter at let's say, a zoo not even a block away. And because the mortal world changed over time that meant so did the Nevernever.

So this was why Elaine dragged him across town to an empty ice rink. They stood before a vertical slit in the air that shimmered at its edges. Wind blew from the gap, cold ice stabbing into them like knives. Harry and Elaine had managed to buy a pair hooded peacoats off a couple in the hotel's lobby, whom just come from a skiing trip. Harry laid some heating charms over the coats, layering them on with a sharp eye. It wouldn't do to freeze to death trekking across the heart of Winter.

They stepped through the portal and he sighed as the heating charms held, blocking the frigid wind that howled through ice capped slopes around them. Elaine stuck close so they could hear each other over the wind, as they began their journey through the snow and ice ridden valley. Harry held out his hand to help Elaine as the terrain steadily worsened.

"I'm not a dainty, little damsel," she said, refusing the hand and shouldering on.

That woman and her pride, Harry thought as he dropped his hand. He eventually noticed that slowly but surely he began to get colder. Cold seeped into his veins as the heating charm failed against the power of Winter ice. Elaine shot him a panicked look as she too began to rub at her arms, her skin turning a dangerous shade of blue.

Confused, Harry shook his head and pulled out his wand. "I don't know what's going on."

"We're in the heart of Winter," said Elaine. "I can't even light a flame against the sea of cold power in the air. No surprise your charm can't hold."

"_Calor!_" Harry snapped, with a sharp wand flick.

Warmth jumped across his skin for a moment till it was chased away by numbing cold. He cursed under his breath and repeated the spell. Again with the same results, but the warmth lasted a shorter amount of time. Elaine placed her hand across his wrist.

"Harry, stop," she said, her breath coming out in a gust of air. "It's no use."

He frowned harder, gripping his wand tighter. "One more time, then we go on and hope we don't get hypothermia."

Harry didn't know why he thought he could do it. Determination burned in his chest, keeping his sights on the prize. He embraced it and with a start realized that it wasn't just an emotion he was feeling. It was power. Summer power. It ran through his nerves like a warm spring day, filling him up with warmth, and chasing away any doubt. The hand holding his wand became alight with scarlet and golden fire of Summer. Elaine gasped as his wand flicked with renewed vigor.

"_Calor!_"

They both jumped as the heating charm encased them more amplified than its first casting. It didn't just block the elements. It filled them up with warmth of the rising sun. Elaine groaned at the renewed and unexpected heat, her cheeks flushing as her skin immediately warmed. Harry stared at his hand as the Summer fire withdrew, and without a word he stalked onward.

"Harry," said Elaine as she caught up to him, matching his long stride. "You're using Summer fire now?"

He licked his lips, unsure of how to respond. "I—I didn't mean to. It's this place. It was like the power of Summer sensed Winter countering my magic, and it roared to life in defiance. Once I realized what was happening, I couldn't _not_ use it. It felt… good."

And it did. The golden Summer flame supercharged his heating charm, somehow turning it into a more advanced form of the common spell. He could still feel the fire buried inside ready to be used, spurned to life by the cold, cold power that permeated the air and ground. After that brief usage he wondered if he could resist using the power again. And for the life of him he was undecided. Harry had no doubt the light of Summer would keep him strong in the land of its counterpart.

She opened her mouth to question him some more when the hill crested and presented an open view of the landscape. The last little bit of land was flat and Arctis Tor rose up like every evil castle in all the cartoons, except very real and very evil. The capitol of Winter and stronghold of Mab was a gigantic fortress made of black ice. It was shaped like a cube of dark shadows, and rising above it was a single tower, twisting and elegant. Icicles clung to the shimmery walls that shined with blue and green energy. Trolls patrolled the battlements, and at the gaping jaw that was fortress' open gate. From here they could see a garrison of goblins marching across the open icy plains.

"Arctis Tor," murmured Elaine.

All they needed was a streak of lightning and the clap of thunder and it would be perfect. As it was the light of the silver moon illuminated the land as they trudged through the snow toward the fortress. The goblins smelled them before they were even in visual range. The gray skinned creatures with their hunched backs and grotesque faces screamed a battle cry.

Crimson light swelled at his wand tip, and Harry planted his feet. "So much for that Summer protection!"

Elaine opened her mouth to unleash the electricity stored in her earrings and rings through her hands. At the same time there was a boom of sound, like the collision of two icebergs. A Sidhe appeared in the space between the two forces. The garrison halted at the sight of the woman.

A thin, sheer green dress hugged her curves like a second skin. It was split at the sides revealing long legs and skin like cream. Hair the color of the setting sun fell down past her hips in loose curls and ringlets. She radiated the supernatural beauty the Sidhe possessed. Gold eyes, slitted like a feline, watched them calmly as if they weren't glowing with power to demolish the horde at her back.

"Welcome to Arctis Tor, Emissary of Summer," she greeted in a smooth voice. "And to you as well, Summer Lord."

He didn't like the way she watched him. It was a little beyond the assessing looks most fae aimed at him. Her expression was a knowing mirth, as if she knew an answer that he didn't. He didn't like it at all. Elaine frowned at the Sidhe noble.

"I know you," said Elaine slowly. "You're the Sidhe who told me to seek protection in Faerie when I was on the run!"

The Sidhe's mouth quirked at the corner. "Guilty. I see you didn't heed my advice and ask Winter for protection."

"I was a teenager but not stupid," replied Elaine. "Even then I wasn't dumb enough to ask for Winter's hospitality, Leanansidhe." She smirked at the surprise that flickered through those gold cat-slittled eyes. "Yeah, I know who you are. They talk about you at court. The Winter fae with her fingers in everything."

Leanansidhe's smile faded. "You would be wise if you don't advertise the inner dynamics of the Summer Court here in the heart of Winter."

Not that Harry was in a hurry, but he really didn't trust the glaring goblins. "So are you here to take us to Mab?"

"It's her wish that I see you to her, so here I am," responded Lea. "Come. She's waiting."

The goblins moved aside and they walked through the gap with Lea leading the way. The goblins glared at them with narrowed eyes, hissing and cursing under their breath in a deep, rolling guttural language that made his skin crawl. It was eerily quiet as they entered through the gate of Arctis Tor. Where there was sound and brightness in Lux Sanctum it was the complete opposite in Winter's stronghold.

Fae moved about the ice covered courtyard in silence. It was as if they were above polite conversation or making merriment here. Sidhe and lesser fae paused in whatever they were doing and stared as they crossed the courtyard. Harry refused to shudder as dozens of appraising gazes swept over him, measuring his worth silently behind inhuman eyes. Lea led them through an archway lined with frost and into a gray corridor.

Light came from some sourceless location, coming nowhere and yet everywhere, like the under levels of the Ministry of Magic where the Unspeakables experimented. The walls were the same black as the outside walls and seethed the same energy. It was unnerving. It was like the ice was organic or alive. Elaine caught his curious expression and jerked her head, falling in line behind the Leanansidhe.

They came upon a pair of double doors that opened at their presence. The stone in the throne room was different. Actually it could have been the same impenetrable blackness, but thick layers of ice coated the walls and ceiling like an Antarctic cave. Nobles clustered around the room dressed for a party. There wore dark colors, contrasting the bright colors of the Summer Court, with purples, blacks, and grays. There was a lot diamonds, silver, and jewelry.

Lea led them through the room and before the throne. "I bring you your guests, my queen. The Emissary of Summer and the Summer Lord."

Queen Mab's throne sat on a raised dais that was cut from a block of ice. Her throne resembled an ice sculpture and she looked every bit the queen she was, as she elegantly sat upon her seat. Her low cut gown was white and glittered as if snowflakes were netted through the cloth. Sapphires and diamonds glittered at her wrists, fingers, neck and ears, constantly shifting colors. A tiara carved of ice sat upon her silken white hair, glittering with each move of her head.

She was feminine loveliness personified. Beautiful and sensual, and the muse artists dreamed of when painting masterpieces. Light green eyes, cat-slitted, watched them with apathy. She licked her full lips and if she were a normal woman Harry would have been turned on. But he wasn't. Far from it. He knew what he was dealing with. All the stories of wicked witches, vengeful women, and evil queens all got their start somewhere. And that somewhere was right here in this room under the tutelage of the woman before him.

"It seems rumors of your rogue status have been greatly exaggerated, Summer Lord," she said, silkily.

He'll be dammed if her voice didn't touch him like a stroke of a caress. "I would be dead if that were the case."

She smiled. "Indeed."

"You know why we're here?" asked Elaine.

Harry gave her props for keeping her voice from shaking.

Mab nodded her head, her stare cool. "Of course, wizard. Ask your questions."

"Do you know who killed the Summer Knight?"

There was a hush of silence in the room that was unnatural. The nobles in the room stilled, and there was a thick tension in the air. Harry could cast a spell on it and it would bounce harmlessly away.

Mab answered with that same smile, "If I did then we wouldn't be in this predicament. No, emissary, I don't know the Knight's murderer."

"Did you arrange it?" asked Harry, boldly. "You might not know who did it, but did you put the plan in motion?"

If it were even possible the silence in the room thickened, as if they all had been transported to the cold vacuum of deep space. Mirth danced across her face as she studied Harry. He made sure to keep his face the polite blank expression he used for court. There was no doubt that she could read body language, and could pick his thoughts just by an expression, sigh, or an uneven breath alone.

"So Aurora went and got herself a brave one," she murmured. "Not many would be as bold as you, especially not so in my own place of power."

Harry wondered if she was amused at his boldness, or at the prospect of power smacking him down. "I meant no disrespect, your highness."

Mab looked at him to one side the way a lion circles its prey before they jump. "If you weren't aligned with Summer I would make a place for you in my own court."

"I'm sure my wife would miss my company," said Harry, hoping she didn't freeze the water in his eyes for turning her down.

"Naturally," replied the Winter Queen. She licked her lips, and Harry followed that tongue against his own volition. "Tell me, Lord Consort, why does the air of the Nevernever hum around you so? I've only known one other to have such an effect, and you are not the Gatekeeper."

Harry blinked. "You're sidestepping the question. Did you arrange the Summer Knight's murder?"

"And you're evading my question," she countered.

Elaine looked like she was going to die on the spot, and she wasn't the one being questioned like a prime homicide suspect. Mab looked at him, and that look was enough for him to collect his breath.

"I don't know," he said. He really didn't. "I don't even know what that means."

She nodded, as if she wasn't surprised. "Of course you don't. You can't see what I see with your human eyes."

Was that an insult? "Now you will answer my question, your highness."

"An order?" asked Mab. "I take orders from no one."

The temperature in the room lowered so much that Harry could almost feel it through the supercharged heating charm surrounding him. Elaine sent him an alarmed look as the nobles shifted anxiously. Snowflakes lightly began to fall from the frozen ceiling.

Elaine shook her head. "He didn't mean it as an order, your highness."

Mab looked at him, really looked at him. He was struck suddenly by everything about her. Suddenly he couldn't tear his eyes away from the goddess before him. Her scent, her lips, everything about her was supremely perfect. He wanted to throw her down right her and now, worship that heavenly body and make her scream his name. His sight zeroed in and she became his whole world.

Elaine grabbed his hand. Not for comfort or affection. She was letting him know where he was, grounding him back to reality. Harry took what little bit of him that escaped Mab's power, and fought against the glamour she was throwing at him. The same will that allowed him to resist the Imperious Curse fought against the glamour of the faerie queen.

"If you would be so kind as to stop with the glamour that would be swell," Harry said through clenched teeth.

Mab broke her gaze, and he fell to all fours as if thrown. "Hmmm… Strong willed. Even though that was only a sample I can tell you're a fighter. Aurora has taste."

Without her using glamour Mab had returned to her usual scary beautiful self. It was sad he liked the glamoured version better. Then, he only thought she would be a creative lover. Now, he only thought she was an inventive torturer. It made him a bit sad to lose the feeling.

"She's a good wife," he said. _Compared to you_. "I appreciate you seeing us and answering our questions."

He tried to sound polite, but his voice betrayed him. Elaine heard the undertone of his voice and hurriedly cut in. "We'll just be on our way now. Thank you for your time."

A boom of sound disrupted Mab's reply and all eyes snapped to the entrance doors that banged open. A troll stomped into the room clothed in leather armor and strapped for battle. In his right hand swung a bulging bag that was dripping something. Blood, Harry realized, staring at the blood drop trail in the creature's wake.

The troll folded its hulking mass into a bow, and keeping its head down it presented the sack to Queen Mab. "This was left at the gates. It just appeared. No one saw who left it."

For some reason Harry's gut was telling him to run. Elaine caught his desperate glance and she gave him a minute nod. They slowly inched backward as Queen Mab took the dripping, bleeding sack.

Please don't look into that bag, please don't look. He prayed to whoever would hear his plea to answer. All the nobles watched their queen with open curiosity upon their perfect faces. Harry cast a notice-me-not charm around him and Elaine. It was weak as the cold power in the air sucked at it, siphoning away the energy, but it held till they got to the doors.

Mab reached into the bag and withdrew the severed head of Yahkphrust. Gasps jumped from mouth to mouth as the nobles watched the morbid sight. A fragile second of time hung in the air as the shock on Mab's face faded as she dropped the head of what had once been her Final Frost. Anger bled through that shock. Her green eyes glowed with power that filled the room like a tempest. They snapped to Elaine and Harry and he froze under those power mad eyes. There was nothing resembling compassion, pity, _sanity_ within them.

Mab's hair began to move in a breeze that started small but rushed through the room in a swirling gale of Winter power. The pressure in the room grew till the air became a thing of the past. It turned against them growing heavy, pushing at their bodies like a solid wall. It hurt to breath as their lungs strained to function in their chests. This was the calm before the storm and if this was her just getting worked up, they were dead.

"You…Did you do this?"

Her voice was a quiet rage that lashed against their skin and he winced, bucking back as something wet filled his ears. He wiped away at the blood dripping down his earlobes. Horrified, he stared at the Winter Queen as a twisting cyclone of freezing wind exploded to life around her.

Elaine shook her head wildly. "No—"

"You arrogant…"

Harry knew then and there she would not listen to reason. No one would but time or another faerie queen could fix this. Mab didn't raise her hands or gesture. Her lips twisted into a snarl and the nobles fell to the floor as azure light jetted from her body. If that light touched them there wouldn't be anything left of them but handfuls of ice cubes. And that was being optimistic. He grabbed Elaine, whipping his wand in the air, at the same time falling back. They skidded away on their back, watching as the doors slammed closed.

The doors creaked as ice raced over their surface, freezing them instantly. The wood shook and groaned as something beat against it. Icy wind whooshed under the door. It touched their legs and they screamed in agony as ice grew along their pants, freezing their skin beneath the cloth. They jumped up as the doors shook more violently as whatever force beat against them grew stronger, _closer_.

Fear shined in Elaine's eyes as she grabbed at Harry. "There's no way we're making it out. This is Mab's playground. Can you teleport or whatever us out of here?"

Apparation usually didn't work for him in the Nevernever. He wasn't sure why not, but he speculated it had something to do with the world having its own set of constantly changing laws of space and time. Laws that while set in the mortal world could be changed on a whim here by a person with enough power and command of the land. Someone with Winter or Summer power, like the Queens. Harry paused, and himself. He grabbed Elaine as the door blew outward in a shower of ice crystals and frozen wood.

"Please, please, please…" he murmured against her hair.

Wind roared out of the throne room and slammed against the wall, coating stone in thick layers upon layers of crystal like ice. He caught a flash of Mab within the windstorm, snow white hair dancing upon her rage filled face. Summer flame didn't need coaxing. It leaped to his wordless cry and with the flame of Summer filling his veins, he turned on the spot and apparated in a burst of scarlet and gold fire.

.

"You're shaking," Harry pointed out.

Elaine dropped the spoon on the table and pushed aside her coffee. She leaned in close so the other diners of the little restaurant within the Rothchild Hotel couldn't hear.

"Forgive me if I'm still a little pumped," she hissed. "We almost were icicles less than three hours ago!"

Harry sighed. "I was there, Elaine. I didn't mean it like that. I was just pointing it out. Hell, I keep looking over my shoulder half expecting to see a pissed off faerie queen."

"Why didn't you mention the fact that Aurora managed to get the drop on the Final Frost?" she asked, picking up her spoon again. This time she managed to stir in her sugar without shaking. "That would've been useful."

"I didn't think it was that big of a deal," he said with a shrug. "I didn't know Aurora or Titania was going to pull a stunt like that."

Elaine groaned. "And I still haven't talked to Maeve yet. How am I going to question the Winter Lady if her mother wants to kill me?"

"You know she's not going to do anything," said Harry. He didn't know if he really believed it. "Mab doesn't honestly believe we killed her Final Frost. We were just convenient outlets. If anything she's going to have a little talk with Titania, and their going to _really_ have it out Midsummer. Aurora was well in her right to kill him for spying on her."

The female wizard's shoulders relaxed marginally. "You're right."

They fell into silence as they both slipped into their thoughts. After that apparation backed by Summer power he was finding it harder to resist the temptation of not using the foreign power. There were cons, oh stars were there cons, but the pros were starting to pile up. And that pile was starting to have lots of potential.

"Listen, I think I'm going to head out," said Elaine. She threw some money on the table. "I'll meet you later on the roof. Aurora's going to need an update."

Harry nodded. "Sounds good. Hey, don't go see Maeve alone. I want to be there."

"I won't." She rolled her eyes and made a cross over her chest. "Cross my heart."

He gave her a smart salute and she crossed the room to the exit. Harry sipped at his coffee getting swept back up into his thoughts. The waiter stopped by the table a few times and Harry barely noticed till he was startled by a very familiar laugh. He looked up as two men entered the restaurant. The man in view was blocking the other's face.

He recognized the man. It was the same older fellow that thought he knew Harry when he checked in yesterday morning. The man stopped to pick up something from the ground, and Harry's breath caught. The face of his companion came into view. Harry realized why the man thought he was someone he recognized. The face staring back at him with identical shock was non-other than James Potter.

James excused himself and stalked over to Harry, shock giving way to chilly anger. He stood before Harry and slammed his hands on the tabletop. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Harry's heart skipped and hope died, and he shrugged. "I'm sitting here drinking coffee."

"Who do you think you are?" he demanded. "Sitting here, wearing my son's face… I should kill you right now."

"Dad—"

James slapped his hands against the table and spat, "Don't call me that. My son's dead. You're just the bastard who hijacked his body." He leaned in close so his whisper sounded just as powerful as a scream. "I'm going to ask one more time. What are you doing here?"

"I'm helping a friend not that its any of your business," Harry replied, fighting against the sinking sadness.

He refused to let his father realize that his words actually hurt. Harry didn't want to be the bad guy. It wasn't his fault he was in this situation. It's not like he asked to be here. There was no one else who wanted out of this bizzaro universe more than him.

James lips twisted into a grim frown. "You're wearing my son's body like a suit, so whatever you do is my business. I'll see to your end if you do something evil using Harrison's face. The full might of the Venatori will come down on you, and you'll wish that you stayed in that backwater world you escaped from."

"Dad, come on!" said Harry, getting fed up. "It's me! Like it or not, I'm your son."

James glared and refrained from snapping out a reply when his colleague appeared. The man touched James shoulder, not taking his eyes off Harry.

"Potter what's going on?" he asked.

James shook his head and growled out. "Nothing." He reined in his anger, fixing his expression into one of detached coolness. "Let's go, Jackson."

Jackson nodded slowly looking from Harry to James quickly. Harry could see he was piecing together their similar facial features and probably already was adding up how they were related. Harry watched as James marched from the room and Jackson left too, but only after giving Harry one more considering stare.

Harry dropped his head on the table. "Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck."

"Uh, sir?"

He dragged his head up and tried to smile at the nervous looking waiter, but he was sure it came off as more of a scowl or grimace.

The waiter sat Harry's bill on the table. "Here's your check, sir."

He managed to say this without looking awkward and then dashed away back to the kitchen. No doubt to tell the staff about the insane customer taking up his table. Harry dropped cash, plus a ten for a tip, to compensate for his scaring the poor guy. He took a deep breath getting himself together. He knew this day was going to suck but it was going down the drain faster than usual. As composed as he was going to be, Harry stood and left the dining room and for good measure left the hotel too. He needed some time and a peaceful place to think.

Harry found himself in a park when he consciously realized that he hadn't stopped walking. He plopped himself on an empty bench, and dropped his face into his hands. His father still hated his guts. That was not so surprising. The man absolutely refused to see Harry's side of the story. If only he could make the man see reason…Harry shook his head. His mother understood the situation, so why couldn't his father see too.

A part of him hated himself for wishing his dad could give him a chance. He didn't like he was so needy for the affection of his parents, but it's what he had always craved. Going without them for so long had engraved the feeling into his very bones. And it sucked.

Feeling eyes on him, Harry realized that he was drawing the stares of parents in the park. He rolled his eyes. Single man sitting alone in the park for almost an hour, of course he must have a nefarious purpose. He glanced at his watch and found that it had been almost four hours since Elaine split. She was probably waiting on him at Aurora's court.

He jogged back to the hotel. The pounding of his feet hitting concrete chased away the nagging thoughts that lingered. He was almost sorry once he entered into the secret elevator that took him up to the Summer Lady's court. At once he noticed that there was difference within the idyllic court. A somberness hung in the air where there was once tranquility.

Harry spotted Aurora first as she lay over a body by the pool. Dresden stood over her and his expression was one of open worry. Talos stood a little bit away watching over them protectively. His steps quickened and he noticed that the person Aurora was leaning over was Elaine. His legs broke into a run as his heart surged in his chest, panic sending it into overdrive. He slid to his knees beside Aurora. Elaine's shirt was covered in blood and it had dried into thick clumps around her abdomen and arms.

Aurora opened her eyes and after sending another pulse of quiet, warm energy into Elaine, she lowered her arms. She looked into Harry's eyes, not surprised at his presence, and gave him a quiet smile. "She'll be alright. She just needs sleep."

"What happened to her?" he demanded.

Dresden scowled at the air, remembering. "She went off to see Maeve and she was attacked. She didn't say by what before she passed out."

"Damn it!" Harry cursed, clenching his fists. "I told her not to go alone. I told her!"

Aurora placed her hand over his. "She made her choice. Don't begrudge her of that."

He shook his head, suddenly feeling very tired. "Elaine's down till sometime tomorrow for sure, and we're still no closer to finding the missing mantle."

"Two days," said Aurora quietly. "That's all the time we have left before Summer and Winter go to war. Our power balance without a Knight makes us weaker as time passes. If we don't win the war Midsummer, at the peak of our strength, then Mab will come for us Midwinter and she'll surely destroy us."

Harry nodded, determined. "I won't let it come to that."

Aurora looked at Dresden and then Harry. "There's not much time left. I ask of you to join forces to prevent our destruction. The war's outcome will leave this world unrecognizable."

Both Harry's looked at each other aghast. Harry had to admit the idea was logical. With their combined information they might be able to piece together something that he and Elaine had missed or overlooked. He swallowed and he could see Dresden had come to a similar conclusion.

"Fine," Harry sighed, standing up. He then helped Aurora to her feet as well. "I'll do it. We're going to find that mantle Aurora."

Aurora traced his face with her green eyes and took his hands in hers. "Thank you, husband."

Dresden went into a sudden coughing fit that made both of them look at him. The taller man couldn't have looked more surprised if someone had told him that he won the lottery.

"You two are married?" he asked incredulous.

Aurora nodded slowly. "Yes."

"Hell's bells," he muttered, dragging his hand down his face. "Didn't see that one coming."

Harry rolled his eyes and after giving Elaine one more look to check her health, he headed off to the elevator. Guilt gnawed at his stomach something awful. He barely noticed Dresden at his side as they stepped into the elevator.

Dresden waited until the doors slid shut. "Elaine and Aurora. You do get around, don't you?"

Harry flashed a lopsided smile. "Don't tell my mom."

"And so witty. No wonder everyone loves you." There was a sigh from beside him, and something must have shown on his face because Dresden said, "It wasn't your fault."

Harry turned around slowly. "Why, thank you, Dresden. I do believe I'll sleep better tonight." His voice dripped sarcasm. "No offence but I need to focus, and I can't do that if we get all chick flick."

"This is going to be _fun_."

The sarcasm was thick. And for the first time Harry couldn't agree more with Dresden.

* * *

I figured an update was due to make up for the lack thereof recently. The next chapter is titled Harry vs. Harry. That should be interesting.


	16. Harry vs Harry

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter either. It belongs to its creator J.K. Rowling and probably Warner Bros. too. I'm not too sure about that. This piece of literature is simply the work of a humble fan. I also credit Jim Butcher for various themes, subjects, or references that I may use.

Author Notes: This is a Harry Potter crossover with the Dresden Files the book series. All my knowledge of the Dresden Files comes from the books. I've never seen the TV series. For the timeline that will be stated later. Thanks to the folks at DLP for help with editing.

* * *

**Awaken Sleeper.  
**Chapter Fifteen: Harry verses Harry  
by: Water Mage

Harry couldn't stop his mind from racing. Too much was going down at once. The Jade Court was on his back, the Courts were going to war, and Elaine was down. The last thought he kept coming back to. Elaine and Harry weren't exactly Winter's friends at the moment after their visit to Mab, but he hadn't expected the abrupt retaliation. It was him, after all, who reassured Elaine that nothing would happen, and that Mab wouldn't strike at them. He obviously jumped the gun.

"Do you think that we should go back to where you found Elaine?" asked Harry as they crossed the lot of the hotel. "Maybe get a clue about her attacker?"

Dresden let out a chuckle. "Better run home, kid. You'll miss the latest episode of CSI."

"Drop the kid nonsense. I'm twenty four," said Harry through clenched teeth. "You're twenty seven. It's not calculus."

"You set the tone," replied Dresden with a shrug. "I'm just going with the flow. I already know who did the hit and run on Elaine. It was the Winter Knight."

"Are you sure?"

The taller wizard nodded. "Positive. I'm pretty sure he jumped her while I was meeting with the Winter Lady. He was looking a little too smug when he entered her throne room. The Winter Lady, Maeve, power smacked him around a bit when he delivered a knife that she claimed was useless. It was coated in blood."

"Elaine's blood," murmured Harry. His eyes widened as he connected the dots. "They're going to work a spell on her."

Dresden smirked. "The blood was dried out and worthless for what she wanted. He'd been burned. No doubt Elaine called fire and rained on his parade."

"Have you met with Titania?" asked Harry.

Looking very tired, Dresden ran a hand down his face. "Just the Ladies and the Winter Knight, I haven't seen Mab or Titania."

"I can guide you to Summer proper so you can question Titania. I have to tell her about this and something else as well," said Harry. He clenched his fists and glared at the ground. "When this is over I'm going to hurt that Knight."

"No, you're not," said Dresden, smiling at the incredulous look Harry aimed at him.

Harry narrowed his eyes. "Enlighten the audience as to why."

"Because," Dresden replied in a deadly voice, "I want to do it."

Harry stared at him a full moment. "Against my better judgment, I'm beginning to like you."

"Fight it," Dresden deadpanned.

Harry ran his hand through his hair and jerked his thumb at a nearby payphone. "I have to make a phone call. When I'm done we're going to Summer."

He crossed the lot to the phone before Dresden could reply. The older wizard was probably going to tease him about using his lunch money to make the call. Harry could see it on his face. He dialed a familiar number from memory, watching Dresden lean against one of the battered looking vehicles in the parking lot.

"Hello?"

A smile stretched across his face hearing the feminine voice. "'Lo, Mum."

"What are you doing in Chicago?"

The smile fell at the anxious reply. "I see Dad called you. I'm in Chicago helping a friend. What's he even doing here? I thought he was off doing something for the Venatori?"

Lily's sigh came through loud and clear. "He is. I told you he was in Illinois representing the Venatori for the White Council war meeting."

"Next time you'll have to specify a city so I can be on the lookout. If he had a gun he probably would've put a bullet in me."

"He's still hurting," she said softly. "Don't let what he said eat at you. What did you say you're doing in Chicago again?"

He rolled his eyes at her unsubtle dig into his personal life. "I didn't. Let's just say I'm in the thick of things over here."

"Why don't I like the sound of that," said Lily dryly.

"You know me I like to live dangerously."

Lily made a disparaging noise. "Since you're obviously not going to tell me what it is you're involved in, be careful. Believe it or not your father and I would both be hurt if something happened to you."

He chose to not comment on that. Honestly he didn't believe her. James would throw a parade if he was killed. "I'll talk to you later. I have to go."

Harry hung up. He sighed and glared up at the sun as a trickle of sweat of rolled down the back of his neck. Maybe if the world didn't end he could talk to Titania into cooler summers. He was an English boy. He wasn't built for this ridiculous heat. He sauntered over to Dresden.

"I can't create direct routes to Lux Sanctum like Aurora," said Harry. "So we'll have to go to the closest entry point, which is a couple miles north beside Lake Michigan."

How in the hell did he know that? Harry racked his brain for a moment. Was the bit of Summer in him strong enough to have a connection with the Nevernever even on a different plane. He really needed to sit down one day and find out what the foreign power could do.

"We'll take my car," said Dresden.

Harry took notice of the car and cringed. It was a small two-seater, an old Beetle if memory served correctly. It used to be all one color at one point and time, but that was years ago. Both doors had been replaced. One green and the other white, and even the storage trunk's hood had been replaced with a faded red duplicate. Harry dragged his eyes off the car to stare at Dresden.

"You're kidding."

Dresden blinked. "About what?"

"Does it even run?" Harry asked eyeing the dent ridden and, _were those claw marks_, car. "I have to tell you I doubt our chances of making it up the street."

Dresden pinched his lips together. "Get in the car."

Harry's expression was skeptical. "I'm not pushing when it breaks down on the way."

The taller man let out a long suffering sigh. "I know that attitude anywhere. Elaine's been rubbing off on you. Get in."

Dresden revved the engine giving him a smug look. Harry rolled his eyes as the car backed out of the space and took off like a bullet out of the parking lot. If awkward silence was water then they would be drowning in it right now. Dresden noticed too because he cleared his throat and shifted a bit in his seat uncomfortably as they continued along the shore of Lake Michigan, taking the city streets instead of the highway.

"So how'd a wizard end up married to a faerie queen?" asked Dresden.

"My smashing good looks might've had something to do with it."

"Lucky you," Dresden drawled. "Any words of advice for dealing with your mother-in-law?"

Harry arched an eyebrow. "Don't piss her off."

"Speaking from experience?"

A memory of neverending gold light swam through his mind accompanied by torturous screams of what had once been a faerie lord who forgot his place. He blinked and the vision faded away. He noticed Dresden was still waiting on a reply.

"She's a faerie," replied Harry. "It's just a rule of thumb."

"Also don't feed them after midnight and don't get them wet," added Dresden with a laugh. "You got anything else besides that obvious bit of advice, boy genius."

Harry was tempted to advise him to rave on and on about Oberon, but then he would be washing blood out of his clothes at the end of the day. He settled for a shrug and a "go to hell" which made the older man snort.

When they get near to the entry point Dresden parked the car in a lot that stretched along the beach. Harry let his feet do the walking as they crossed over to the sandy beach and passed the bathing suit clad mass of swimmers. He got a curious glance for his sport coat but people outright stared at Dresden. The man's staff and black leather duster, in the middle of June, made him a strange sight indeed.

Harry eyed the long duster. "Please tell me you're wearing that coat for a reason other than making you look badass."

His lips quirked. "It matches my eyes."

"You look ridiculous."

Dresden shot him a superior look. "Can your coat stop bullets?" At Harry's surprised expression, he nodded and continued, "Didn't think so."

They had walked a good deal away from the crowd till they appeared as tiny specks in the distance. Harry looked out toward the waves and then further out at the nearby beach houses. This was the entry point. He could feel it. He pulled out his wand and focused a little bit of magic into the wood. He flicked at the air focusing on the incantation, _Aparturum._

The space before his wand fell away as if someone had thrown a rock at a window. A large jagged hole appeared in the air, its edges glowing softly from friction of the two exposed planes intermingling. On the other side were a stretch foothills and plains, green as far as the eye could see, all belonging to Summer. Dresden watched him with a speculating expression.

"What?" asked Harry.

Dresden gestured to the Way between worlds. "I've never seen a Way created like that. I just kind of punch my way through. It was like space fled before you. Slick stuff, kid."

Harry smiled, large and bright, entirely false. "Thanks, Professor. Five points for Gryffindor?"

The other wizard frowned. "Uh, sure."

Harry gave a half smile. "Let's go, old boy."

He stepped into the rift as Dresden silently mouthed _old boy, _and then stepped through a moment later.

.

Trekking across the plains of Summer was tons easier than managing the frozen terrain of Winter. Loads easier. Lux Sanctum was tucked on a peninsula at the point where a river streaming from a green valley flowed into an ocean. The spectacular citadel was a sprawling castle made of white stone. With the sun shining behind it was like a star on the coastline.

They walked into the atrium with the towering statues and center fountain.

"Titania doesn't do anything small does she?" said Dresden softly, letting out a long whistle as he gazed up at the statues of the Queens standing under the domed ceiling. "Do you live here too?"

Harry shook his head. "Rent's too steep." He gave him a long look. "You know what? You ask an awful lot of questions."

"I'm a detective, it's what I do," Dresden said with a small smirk. "And so far I've put quite a bit together on you. You and Elaine genuinely are friends, so you do have a heart. You tend to evade questions with sarcasm, meaning you don't trust easily."

Harry shot him a reproachful look. "Refrain from psychoanalyzing me, if you please."

He awarded Dresden a point for not continuing. He detracted it right away as the annoying man smiled and looked overly pleased with himself when he noticed Harry's sour face.

Harry gazed around the atrium, searching for an aid amongst the fae. He flagged down a handmaid. She was a faerie girl with green braided hair and a stoic expression, who bowed once she recognized him. With a curt nod upon his request, she immediately led him straight to the Queen.

They walked through shining corridors adorned with paintings of people and scenery, tapestries, and stone statues that glittered in the light. Servants bowed before Harry and he could tell Dresden was dying to make a smart comment, but was tactfully keeping it to himself. Mahogany double-doors adorned in gold opened into a warm, comfortable parlour.

Two guards stood at the door garbed in fine armor. They walked three steps down into the main area of the parlour where in the center stood a long table covered with unfurled maps. Titania gazed over maps with a critical eye, dressed in a red gown with a flared collar that touched her chin. A young man no older than thirteen or fourteen, clothed in fine silver mail, poured over the maps as well. His features were delicate and only came up to her shoulders, but his hair was long and straight, and Sidhe white. As they neared, the faerie boy was speaking.

"…We've managed to hold them off at the pass through the Unseelie Mountains. But they grow bold and their numbers increase, my queen."

Titania nodded. "They can't breach that pass no matter what. It's a direct route from Arctis Tor. Order a battalion to muster to that position." She looked up at the new arrivals with a somber expression. "The guards at the North Gate sent a messenger ahead to tell me of your coming. What can I do for you, son in-law and..."

"Winter scum!" the Sidhe boy spat, glaring at Dresden.

He moved with fluid speed, launching himself at them with a swiftness that belied his size. Harry threw himself from the Sidhe's path. The pissed off fae crashed into Dresden and they smacked into the wall with a thunderous noise.

"_Forzare!_"

Invisible force lashed out between Dresden and the boy faerie's grappling bodies, striking the Sidhe with the strength of a battering ram. It threw him across the room like a ragdoll and he fell into a bookcase. He jumped back up, throwing woodchips and books everywhere, and was crossing the room in rapid leaps.

Cutting in, the younger Harry swished his wand and ropes whipped through the air. They wrapped around the faerie till they bound his entire upper body. "Down boy," Harry said, firing off a Stunner.

The faerie flexed and the magical bindings snapped and fell to the floor in tatters as the Stunner struck him at the same time. He shrugged off the spell like it was a mild annoyance. The Sidhe glared at Harry with narrowed eyes swirling with fury. He flicked his wrist and a scimitar appeared into his waiting hand. Both wizards blinked. Uh oh.

"Calm down, short stack, can't we talk about this," Dresden began, eyeing the curved sword.

The Sidhe's lip curled up into a sneer. "You dare set foot here, Winter whore!"

Younger Harry would have found that funny if the Sidhe boy wasn't tearing across the room at a terrific speed. Harry apparated out of the boy's way rather than get mowed down. Short jumps were fine, but apparation over long distances would require a little bit more juice, like Summer fire. He reappeared behind the boy's back and launched a Blasting Curse at point blank range.

The Sidhe boy did a spin like a football player and the curse whizzed through the spot he once occupied. Harry flicked his wand and a couch morphed into a snarling timber wolf. The transfigured creature sprinted across the room in a flash of gray fur. The scimitar came up as the wolf launched itself into the air, jaw aimed for the jugular. There was a soft whine, a splash of blood, and the wolf fell in two pieces that landed on the ground with matching thuds.

The Sidhe turned around from glaring at Harry just to see Dresden snarl, "_Ventas servitas!"_

A burst of wind gathered underneath the Sidhe, hurtling him into the air with fantastic speed. He smacked into the ceiling with a sickening crack and then landed on the floor. Instead of knocking him out, the Sidhe rose to his feet with a thin trickle of scarlet blood oozing from a gash above his left eyebrow.

"Have you had enough?" asked Harry, watching him with a sharp eye.

The sidhe boy frowned. "I will not hurt you, my lord, but the snow lover cannot be tolerated."

He took the wizards by surprise by uttering a word in a foreign tongue, sending a tightly packed ball of fire and wild magic directly at Dresden. The elder wizard brought his arm up and his bracelet shined as a glimmering shield formed around him with an energetic snap. It took the brunt of the attack, making him skid backward, but the force was too much and he was required to dodge as a second attack followed at near light speed.

Hoping to catch him while distracted with Dresden, Harry's wand arched through the air, and the Sidhe barely spared him a glance before throwing his scimitar. The sword cut through the air like a spear aimed at Harry, as the Sidhe ran to Dresden dagger in hand and hell in his eyes. Harry flicked his wand and the sword burst into a trio of doves. He apparated in front of the Sidhe, as he leaned over Dresden's fallen body dagger poised to strike.

They all froze.

"You see the way my wand tip is glowing green," said Harry, glaring into those furious cat-like eyes. "You may be faster than me but there's no way you can dodge at this range. Let me tell you that this will be the last thing you'll ever try and dodge."

There was a distinct clicking sound and in Dresden's hand was a revolver with the barrel jabbed into the Sidhe's gut. The sound was of the hammer being cocked back. He glared at the Sidhe and said coldly, "Lead bullets anyone?"

"That's enough, Puck."

Titania's voice came through like a bell, clear and piercing, and it was startling. Harry had forgotten she was in the room. She stepped away from the guards whom once stood at the door, but had formed a protective shield before her once the fight began. The sheer authority of her was voice was enough for Puck to rise to his feet and snap to attention.

"Your point has been made. That will be all for today, General," she said without malice. "Remember my earlier orders. You are dismissed."

Puck bowed deeply, glared one last time at Dresden, and departed without another word.

Harry pulled Dresden to his feet. He was unharmed except smoke rose from the right shoulder of his duster where the second attack clipped him. He turned his dark eyes on Titantia who was watching them patiently.

"Who the hell was that?" demanded Dresden. "What was his problem?"

Titania laughed. "You'll have to forgive Puck. He's not a fan of Winter and the war is exasperating his dislike."

"You called him general," said Harry. "That little guy is seriously in charge of your entire army? I get he's good, but don't you have older men."

"As the Final Frost is to Mab, Puck is to me. I call him my Little Knife. Do not let his looks fool you. He's no mere boy."

Right. This was the court of illusion. That kid was probably older than he and Dresden combined, and that schoolboy face was probably glamoured to hide his true age. There was no telling how old he was, except for skills. He was too damn good to be as old as he appeared. It was a little disturbing to think that Titania's personal assassin liked to walk around looking like a teenager.

"I had expected the Emissary at some point but not you, son in-law," said Titania, staring at him with a touch of curiosity in her eyes.

Harry sighed. "Elaine's injured so Aurora asked me to work with him."

Her expression grew clouded. "What has befallen my Emissary?"

"I think it was the Winter Knight," said Dresden, stepping forward. "She was injured badly. I don't have any proof however."

"Treachery to their very bone," said Titania with an annoyed sigh.

"I think it might've been in retaliation to a certain Sidhe's head being gifted to Mab while we were having an audience with her."

Titania waved her hand and said impatiently, "Don't speak in riddles, boy. What are you talking about?"

That was unexpected. He thought she knew about this by now. Harry frowned. "I'm talking about Yahkphrust's head being sent to Mab right as we were questioning her. She was pissed. Truly and utterly pissed."

Her annoyance vanished in visible mirth, and she smiled. "How delightfully crude."

Harry's eye twitched. "Did you do it?"

"I had no hand in that deed," she answered. "I suppose that's in the missive one of Mab's messengers sent to me earlier. I hadn't gotten around to reading it."

"I don't know if I believe that," said Harry, polite yet still doubtful. "You weren't too quick to stop Puck during his little rampage."

Titania crossed her arms. "You are the Summer Lord. Puck wouldn't have deliberately harmed you."

"What about me?" Dresden asked, glaring.

She arched an eyebrow. "You're not the Summer Lord." Harry opened his mouth to further question her when the air grew thick with a pressing heat. Titania narrowed her eyes and said slowly with a deadly edge, "I've given my answer. Do not make me repeat myself."

Harry's mouth snapped closed without a sound. Pissing off Puck was one thing. Angering Titania was not even the same league of nasty.

"I have some questions to ask you," said Dresden, looking a bit relieved, as she reigned in her power. "It's about the Summer Knight."

Titania looked at Dresden, really looked at him, and a smile spread across her face suddenly. "Yes, ask your questions, Emissary." She turned to the younger Harry. "You may leave, Harry. What we have to speak of is not for your ears."

He started to argue but the hard stare was enough for him to know that it was a losing battle. Dresden was shooting him a questioning look that might as well said, 'is this chick going to eat me', to which Harry just subtly shrugged and departed through a side door.

"_Merlin_," he swore, striding down a corridor. "I hate this place."

It was always something when he came here. Servants and couriers saw his anger and backed against the walls, clearing the path for his long strides. They stared at him as he passed, and then hurried off to no doubt gossip amongst the castle's inhabitants.

So if Titania hadn't sent Yahkphrust's head then who did? Why would they do it in the first place? It had served only to put their lives in danger. Who would want them dead exactly? That was a lengthy list. Hopefully Dresden's interview with Titania goes better than Elaine and his had with Mab. He wasn't too sold on the idea of them two chatting alone, but Dresden was a big boy.

He didn't know where he was going. He didn't care. It was only till he entered a part of the castle that he didn't recognize that he did indeed began to care. It was empty of people and eerily quiet. He passed a heavy looking black metallic door seemingly out of place among the light colored corridors. The handle jerked and twisted, and instinct took over before he could give thought. He moved quickly beside a statue and wordlessly cast a Disillusionment Charm. It felt like a flood of cold water ran down him as the charm effectively made him like a human chameleon.

The door opened and there was a click of hooves and a centaur slowly appeared. He was broad-chested, shirtless, bearded, and suspicious as Quirrell during his brief stint at Hogwarts. The creature looked both ways, casting searching eyes up and down the corridor. Harry got a good look at his face then and recognized that fierce-looking mug. _Korrick_. He was the blacksmith for Aurora's court. He wasn't one to leave his forge, and during these times of imminent war it was prevalent that weapons be in abundance. Korrick shut the door behind him and departed quickly down the corridor.

Suspicious, very suspicious. What was he up to?

"_Finite Incantatem_,_"_ Harry murmured as he entered through the black door. The disillusion cancelled and it was with slow footsteps that he walked into a surprising sight.

The room he found himself in was made of quartz. It was a clear crystal that didn't so much look like it was placed there, but rather carved out. It pulsed with that same otherworldly energy that coated the black ice within Arctis Tor. This living crystal radiated light like the morning sun, filling the room with a bright glow. As Harry entered the glow pulsed threateningly, but settled after a beat as if he had been scanned. He looked around and caught sight of a passage cut into the crystal. Well only one way to go. He entered the narrow passage. His foot caught on a rock and his swear echoed along the walls of crystal.

"Hello, anyone there," a timid voice called out.

Harry stilled as the voice reached his ears. Briskly he took off further down the corridor till he stopped at a door that looked like the one he first entered. There was a small rectangle cut into the door and Harry called out into the cell.

"Hello? Anyone in here?"

"Please – help me," a little girl's weak voice echoed softly.

His saving people thing was in full force as he opened the door and stepped through. The room was painted in symbols, every square inch of it was covered with them. All of them were unfamiliar, but the largest covered the ground. It was a circle with strange slanted writing tracing its outline. The entire sigil glowed with a green glow, and resting in the center was a girl. No more than eight, the girl sat on the ground in a plain white dress. Covering her wrists and ankles were long shackles bolted to the floor.

Blue eyes, heartbreakingly sad and framed by white blond hair, peered up at him. "Please…"

"Bloody Hell," he swore stepping forward.

"Help me," she pleaded.

"Shh, calm down," he said, running his eyes over the symbols. "I'm going to get you out of here. Don't worry."

Harry studied the glowing sigil and the script. He had done a lot of studying of dead languages in his research to get home. These bizarre glyphs looked almost Sumerian, maybe some throwback version, like a proto language. He stared around with a frown. A hunch was forming with a rising dread the more he stared and took in what he was seeing. The symbols on the walls and ceiling looked like a collection of shielding spells, heavily layered, and used in such a way they could bind and entrap possibly even an Outsider. Empowered, as these were, there was no doubt the girl wasn't as innocent as she claimed. This was the Alcatraz of prison cells fortified greater than even Azkaban.

Harry stepped away from the girl. "What are you?"

Tears pooled in her eyes as she inhaled with a soft whimper. "Won't you help me?"

"How'd you get in here?" he asked carefully, watching her intently.

She sniffled. "The bad witch locked me in here."

His eyes flicked to the glowing sigils. Well shit if Titania looked the little girl in here then it wasn't because she drew on the walls. This room wasn't for slaps on the wrist. Whoever this little girl was she was good, but he was no fool.

"Nice try," said Harry, crossing his arms. "A good show I give you that, but come on."

The girl stared at him a full moment then a slow smile, almost shark like, spread across her face. She rose to her feet. "I have to admit. I thought that would work."

Harry blinked at the too deep voice that poured from the girl's throat. She smirked and then laughed and laughed, as her body shifted and changed. In the blink of an eye where she once stood there was now a man. Harry took a step backward, surprised. The man, no it was a Sidhe, had snow white hair streaked with blue. Blue eyes, so light and blue, shined almost fluorescently bright and unnaturally inhuman. A deep scar started at the top of his right cheekbone and ran down his face, and the side of his neck, till it disappeared under his collar. His skin was burned and raw as the iron cuffs shifted around with his sudden growth.

"You must be great at parties," said Harry. "For the record, you came on a little strong."

The Sidhe man didn't laugh. He stared at Harry with an utterly blank face. "Once the rulers of Seelie would have taken enough pride to terminate a mortal who didn't know his place. Now they allow them into the Summer Court royalty. Pathetic."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Gee, and here I thought I was fitting right in."

"It's inevitable you know," said the Sidhe. "Change is coming. War is on the western wind. I can smell it. Take my hand, human, and help me punish the big bad queens."

"Someone has a death wish," said Harry.

The Sidhe looked at Harry and they met eyes and he felt light headed. Weightlessness grabbed his body and he shook his head to try and clear his fogged mind. His heart pounded so hard he could feel his pulse against the back of his throat.

He extended one hand toward Harry. "Take my hand, Harry. Come on, little prongs. Listen to my voice. You know it's me."

Laughter filled blue eyes and wavy dark hair wavered onto the Sidhe's features, as his face shifted between the faerie visage and one he knew so well. Sirius smiled at him, wide and bright, and it was impossible. Yet he couldn't stop himself from letting the words, and familiar voice, swim around his fog filled mind. Dazed, he stared into those blue eyes he hadn't seen since he was a teenager.

He shook his head.

"We can get out of here, Harry. Just take your godfather's hand."

Harry threw off the glamour the same way he shook Mab's. He found his voice and it came out through clenched teeth, "Fuck you. Sirius Black is dead, asshole."

Once he felt the glamour waver it was easy to shake its hold and he saw the Sidhe for who he truly was. Sirius' features faded and he was looking wholly at the Sidhe. Harry's fists were clenched so tightly tiny crescents had dug into his skin drawing a bit of blood. He stared at the blood welling in the cuts and it helped him focus his mind. Pain was good. It made him feel something other than what someone forced onto him.

"Maybe Aurora had a reason for marrying a human after all. Not many can withstand my glamour."

"I aim to impress."

The Sidhe regarded him still as a statute. "I never said I was impressed."

"How did you get inside my head?" asked Harry glaring. His Occlumency was better than that.

He was answered with a dismissive, "You saw what you wanted to see."

Harry frowned at that. That couldn't be true. Could it? He knew he had some dead people issues, but was he really still not over Sirius. He thought he was. He was sure of it. Damn, maybe there was a shrink appointment in his future.

"Who in the hell are you anyway?" asked Harry hotly.

He smiled and it was slow, filled with dark humor, and completely alien. "I was the King of Sunrise. Husband to Titania. You can call me Oberon."

Harry swallowed a mouthful of fear as his mind screamed at him _rogue, rogue, _**rogue**_**. **_This was bad as bad could get.

Oberon leaned forward till the chains jerked him in place. His eyes gleamed darkly. "You want to know what makes Faerie Kings go bad?"

And end up like him. Hell no. Harry stumbled back out of the room and slammed the door shut, as Oberon's laughter escaped through the cutout in the door. It followed Harry down the corridor all the way to the front room till he escaped from the dungeon all together.

He didn't gather a breath till halfway down the corridor that led to the dungeons. He swallowed thickly as his racing heart slowed to its normal rhythm. Fear gripped him tight and shook him to the core. How could he not be scared? He heard the rumors of the faerie king, and how his deception was so strong it was only talked about in the softest of whispers. Bringing it up not only brought memories, but it had the penalty of Titania coming down on you like a hammer. He couldn't imagine how she would react to his little visit, no matter how accidental, with his…father in-law. Maybe she would be as nice as to just raise his body's temperature so high that he died from overheating. The worst was slowly burn his skin from his body. He would be damned before he told her anything.

It took almost fifteen minutes before his mind brought up a little bit of information that he forgot. He went in there for a reason. He was following Korrick. What was the centaur doing visiting the disposed King of Summer?

It didn't take him long to find a corridor that he recognized and from there to familiar settings. Harry found himself in the atrium pacing under the gigantic statues of the three queens. It wasn't long before Harry spotted Dresden walking toward him his staff clenched loosely in his grip. His dark eyes were flat and his whole face was ashen white.

"Dresden," said Harry warily, as the man neared. "What's wrong? What did Titania do to you?"

He shook his head. "She didn't do anything. She just talked." He continued talking and he didn't even look aware of what he said next, "She knew my parents when they were alive. Both of them."

Dresden seemed to realize what he said and then he blinked hard, and wiped his hand across his face. A little bit of color appeared in his cheeks and the look in his eyes wasn't so apparent. Harry saw his hard look and knew that talking about it wasn't an option.

"Let's get the hell out of here," said Dresden.

Harry couldn't agree more.

.

The sun was sitting on the horizon as twilight set in. They walked across the beach back to the parking lot. The little car was right where they left it and Dresden snatched a parking ticket off the windshield with an aggravated sigh.

"Two days till Midsummer," murmured Harry, staring at the setting sun.

Dresden faced him with a grim frown. "We need to match up what we know. I'm going to need you to be straight with me."

"Why would I try and lie?" said Harry narrowing his eyes. "The world is on the line here."

He shrugged. "You're the one knee deep in faeries."

"And so were you're parents," Harry shot back.

Dresden's face twisted in anger, and Harry was sure he was about to get punched. The moment passed and Dresden's shoulders sagged. He took a long breath and Harry did likewise. They were going at each other when they were supposed to be helping the other. This was getting them nowhere.

"Look you don't trust me," said Harry. "I get it. I don't know you and you don't know me. I say we get to know each other. The rough and dirty way."

Dresden smirked. "I don't know. It's only our first date."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Funny. I'm talking about a soulgaze. Right here, right now."

The taller man leaned back against the door of the car and said quietly, "Are you sure? That's not always a great idea with me."

Harry could say the same. People tended to check their sanity for a minute after witnessing his. "Positive. Trust is what we need and this is one hell of a building block."

Dresden pushed off from the car and leaned his staff against the door. "Fine. Let's do this."

Harry took a breath as he faced Dresden. He looked up and locked eyes with the wizard. When a wizard of this world looked you in the eye they could see into your soul and see the truest depths of your being. And, like a double edged sword, they could see you in the same way. They looked at each other and saw.

There was Dresden standing in a sea of white light. It was pure as snow and radiated goodness, innocence, warmth, and courage. He was barefoot, clothed only in jeans and a dark blue shirt, as he stood in the ocean of white light. He spun around as darkness ruptured the serene sight. Within the darkness were creatures that shifted in the inky black light that ebbed and flowed like water, as it poured forth in a massive tidal wave. They howled and screamed in unholy wails and Dresden's arms came up, light bursting from his hands to battle the darkness. Chains shined around his ankles that led into and disappeared within the ichors of blackness.

Harry could see it all. There was darkness inside Dresden's soul. It was a blackness that wanted to deal deeds with might rather than right. Loneliness lingered about his aura, but that didn't matter. He spent most of his life alone. That wouldn't stop him from fighting the dark with the light that shined greater than the darkness in his soul. It was tempting. It was. Light however prevailed as the dominant force within. That kept him strong, focused. He would protect those from knowing their own darkness in their soul. May the spirits have pity on any that made an enemy out of him. Anger him enough and there would be no mercy.

Harry blinked as the world came into focus a second later, which felt like minutes. "Well damn."

Dresden stumbled back, his mouth opening and closing, as he stared at Harry. His eyes were on him but he was looking passed him. "Infinity times infinity equals infinity. So many versions. Possibilities…"

"Dresden," called out Harry sharply, gripping his arm. "Dresden!"

The second shout did the trick and the wizard blinked quickly, his shoulders relaxing as he came to. "Your soul…it's unbreakable. I don't know how else to put it." He took a deep breath of air, staring at him with wide eyes. "Do you have a twin or are you a triplet or something?"

Harry shook his head slowly. "No."

"It's was like looking at multiple versions of you… all at the same time," Dresden tried to explain, much to Harry's every growing confusion. He waved of the hands trying to help him as he grabbed his staff. "I'm alright."

"I got to say, I really do trust you now," admitted Harry.

Dresden chuckled as he opened the driver door. "After that it'll be hard not to."

The shorter wizard nodded and then slipped into the passenger side. "We both know what will happen if we betray the other so let's not get into that."

Letting it go unsaid was best. Both had witnessed what would be brought to bear upon an enemy.

Dresden started the car and pulled out of the lot. "Break out your Hardy Boys books, English. We've got a case to solve."

"You think you're so funny."

"I _know_ I'm funny."

* * *

That answers the question as to how strict this will follow the plot of Summer Knight. It's already starting to veer off course. Some things will be the same, but there's going to be a lot of changes, major and minor, that will have an impact on both Harry's.


	17. This Day in Chicagoland

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter either. It belongs to its creator J.K. Rowling and probably Warner Bros. too. I'm not too sure about that. This piece of literature is simply the work of a humble fan. I also credit Jim Butcher for various themes, subjects, or references that I may use.

Author Notes: This is a Harry Potter crossover with the Dresden Files the book series. All my knowledge of the Dresden Files comes from the books. I've never seen the TV series. For the timeline that will be stated later. Thanks to the folks at DLP for help with editing.

* * *

**Awaken Sleeper.  
**Chapter Sixteen: This Day in Chicagoland  
by: Water Mage

A beautiful storm was brewing.

Rain, burst of hail and booming thunderstorms trapped the city in an iron grip. It was beautiful and violent and undeniably unnatural, if you knew what was really happening behind the scenes. Summer and Winter were gearing up for war and the world was feeling it.

Dresden had been forced to pull the car over as it became impossible to see while driving. Along with half a dozen wet and unhappy people they made a sight as they camped out in a corner at a coffee shop. Conversations ran quickly, voices mixing together into an audible drone, as the rain loudly hammered against the store windows.

People looked up at the television screen mounted against the wall as a barista played with a remote control. The image flickered with interference but it was enough to show an alert but scruffy weatherman.

"… a truly unprecedented event, an enormous Arctic blast that came charging like a freight train through Canada and across Lake Michigan to Chicagoland. And if that wasn't enough, a tropical front, settled quietly in the Gulf of Mexico, has responded in kind, rushing up the Mississippi River in a sudden heat wave. They've met right over Lake Michigan, and we have received several reports of rain and bursts of hail. Thunderstorm warnings have been issued all through the Lake Michigan area, and a tornado watch is in progress for the next hour in Cook Country. National Weather Service has also issued a flash flood warning and a travel advisory for the eastern half of Illinois. This is some beautiful but very violent weather, ladies and gentlemen, and we urge you to remain in shelter until this storm has time to …"

Harry lowered his coffee mug and sent Dresden a somber stare. "It's starting."

Dresden nodded, knuckles turning white around the cup held in his hands. "D day's around the corner. Time's running up."

"I'd say we have about thirty hours maybe less before full on war," said Harry, running a hand over his face. What he wouldn't give for an endurance potion. This no sleep thing was starting suck. "I can't be sure."

The older wizard looked both ways before leaning forward, pitching his voice low. "We still have to finger the Summer Knight's killer and find the missing mantle." He groaned low in his throat. "Too much depends on this." He let out an irritated sigh. "Mab doesn't ask for small favors."

Harry cocked his, considering. "You owed Mab, huh? Is that why you're Winter's Emissary."

"I don't owe Mab anything," replied Dresden, face twisting into something angry and cold. "She gained three favors from me by way of another faerie." He exhaled loudly and frowned. "Only reason I agreed is because Mab offered the White Council safe passage through the parts of Winter in Faerie."

"Generous," said Harry, eyebrows rising in surprise. "The Council is full of hardasses and loose on the trigger Wardens. You don't seem the type to do them favors like this. Is it because of the war with the vampires? Is it true the war started because a Council representative killed a Red Court noble and burned her house to the ground?"

"They're lucky that's all I did," said Dresden darkly, voice intense.

Harry gaped at him, eyes wide and face frozen. "That was you!"

Dresden looked down at the ground turning away from Harry's incredulous expression. "It was a trap. They used my girlfriend as bait. The Red's have wanted this war for centuries. Everyone knows. Even the Senior Council, but the finger's still pointed at me. If I don't come through with Mab giving us passage through the Ways then the Council will ship me off to the vampires wrapped in a bow."

"_Merlin._ They'll try and sue for peace, then" Harry reasoned, feeling a measure of empathy as the man nodded.

He more than anybody knew what it was like to be blamed for something beyond this control. His youth was nothing but scandals, heresy and war. It was like his life but through a weird funhouse mirror. Though the universe was different the world didn't have its shortage of a wizard named Harry who needed kicking. If fate was a woman then she was truly a bitch.

Dresden's smirk was full of bitterness. "And they wondered why I stopped paying membership dues." His eyes slid over to the window. "We're close. I know it. The pieces are just out of order. We've got to talk to the Mothers. "

If the Queens were dangerous and unpredictable, the Mothers of Summer and Winter were that and much worse. They've held their powers for years, longer than the Queens and the Ladies. They were ancient in their power and supreme in their domain. They were more than a match for any Queen who ruled the Faerie Courts, Archangel or lesser god. To seek them was dangerous. One didn't just talk to a Mother. They lived deep in Nevernever and had few dealings with the mortal realm.

"You've got a set of stones, mate," said Harry with a wry grin. "Nobody just walks into Faerie and talks to the Mothers."

"I'm this close to being the Red Court's happy meal. Call it a Hail Mary," said Dresden, grimly. "You think you could be my guide to the Mothers?"

"Uh, no can do. I have no idea where the Mothers are holed up at."

"Really slipping on not reading the family newsletter, are we?"

"I'm still waiting on my super duper decoder ring," replied Harry dryly. "It's a thing."

Dresden hummed under his breath, expression thoughtful. "I hate to say it, but maybe Mab can help. She got me into this mess."

Harry blanched. "NO!"

A stark memory of cold and terrible eyes full of absolute rage flashed across his thoughts. The recollection of icy wind and the pressing chill of Winter was enough to make him pale.

"You need a bucket?" Dresden asked cautiously, leaning way back. "You look like you're about to lose your lunch."

"I'll be okay," answered Harry, scrubbing the back of his hand across his dry lips. "Mab and I didn't part on the best terms during our last face to face. Before you ask, yes, that's an understatement."

Dresden held up his hand, showing a startling red line of freshly healed skin between the meat of his thumb and forefinger. "I feel your pain. First meeting Mab puppet mastered me into stabbing myself. She did it to prove a point."

"Bitch crazy," Harry muttered, knowing for a fact that Mab would have done a lot worse to him. "We need to find another guide. Mab is definitely out. I don't care to have the water in my eyeballs frozen today."

The other man nodded and then stilled, face going pensive. "Listen. I'm going to make a phone call. After that we're getting out of here. I think I may know a guide."

A slow smile spread across Harry's face. "You must have quite the contact list, then. Can I go under B, for badass?"

"Sometimes I want to blink really hard and have you disappear like a food poisoning induced hallucination."

Harry laughed, laying his hand over his heart. "Aww, I'm touched. You fantasize about me."

Dresden narrowed his eyes. "You are the worst thing in my life right now."

He turned around before Harry could see the smile tugging at his lips. The green eyed man's laughter followed him as he parted the crowd to the service phones. Harry couldn't keep the small smile from forming on his face. Dare he say it. He and Dresden were actually warming up to each other. The world must be ending.

One look out the window confirmed, that yes, it was.

* * *

It was well into the night as they cleared the town, driving north out of the city and through some of the worst weather Harry had ever seen. It got noticeably better as they distanced themselves from Chicago proper but that wasn't saying much. It was cold and even through the heavy peacoat Harry still wore from his trek through Winter he was still feeling it strongly.

"You really can't turn on the heater?" Harry gripped, fiddling with the knobs on the dashboard.

Dresden took one hand off the steering wheel, wiggling all five fingers in his face. "Two wizards riding together in a car. That thing didn't stand a chance."

"Uh, right," Harry muttered, ignoring the funny look Dresden shot him at the slipup.

Modern technology never functioned well around wizards of this universe. The inherent magical energies of their kind interfered with the inner circuitry. The more complex the tech was the easier it was to jam up. Harry didn't run into the problem much except if he was casting heavy spellwork so it slipped his mind from time to time.

"So you never said who we're driving all this way to meet?"

Dresden glowered and didn't look at all pleased. "We're going to go pay my godmother a visit."

Harry squinted his eyes, staring quietly for a long moment and then his eyebrows shot up. Dresden grimaced as he caught the expression on the younger wizard's face that first went slack with realization immediately followed by glee.

"No bloody way," said Harry, sounding completely delighted. "You have a faerie godmother?"

"This coming from the man married to a faerie."

Harry sobered up pretty quick at that. "Good point. So what's the deal with that?"

"Long story. It's not important. But she's a Sidhe who's pretty high up in the Winter Court. On a good day she wants to turn me into a hellhound—"

"Great guidance and mentoring on the godparent front, that one."

A smirk settled on Dresden's face. "Got the better of her a while ago. She's bound to do me no harm for another seven weeks."

"I feel safer already," said Harry.

They drove through a little town that neighbored Lake Michigan. Dresden parked in a deserted lot, grabbed his long staff and they were off. Harry pretty much just followed the taller man, keeping pace with his much longer strides as they walked up the shore of the lake.

It was dark but the terrain was fair and they easily navigated through the light woods that surrounded this part of the lake. Dresden led them to a large piece of flat rock that easily the width of two men. It was rooted in the shore and jutted out into the water a good ways like a natural pier. They walked carefully along the stone till they got to its end and stopped, staring out at the ripping waves that churned as if visibly agitated.

The light rain and rolling thunder reminded Harry of another time and place. Of a basin in the middle of a lake, the rising dead and the pained, horrified delusions of a man he respected above all others. He came to as a energy, light and wild, danced across his skin.

"Godmother! _Vente, Leanansidhe!_"

She appeared as if she always been there, fading into sight in the blink of an eye. The name should have been a total tip off, but he hadn't made the connection. The Sidhe before them with her slim curves, hugged by a gown of emerald silk, and flame colored hair was familiar to Harry. A thin eyebrow rose as she regarded the wizard standing behind Dresden. The familiarity went both ways.

"The Lord of the Summer Court," said Lea in a velvety soft voice. "And my beloved godson. I find myself unsurprised." She looked at Dresden reprovingly. "You always did have terrible taste in friends, child."

"It's nice to see you again, too, Leanansidhe," said Harry snidely. "How's Mab?"

Lea's lips twitched, mirth visible upon her face. "Still frightfully displeased from your last encounter."

Dresden threw up his hands. "Whoa, whoa. Let's back it up. You two know each other?"

"We've meet," replied Harry shortly.

"Right," said Dresden, staring suspiciously between the two. "Godmother I need your help."

The lingering mirth faded from her faded. "That much is true. Great danger faces you from all fronts, child."

"Like you care," said Dresden, sarcasm dripping from his voice. "I can't help but recall you wanting to turn me into one of your hounds. Or the time you suckered me into giving you that honking big, glowy broadsword. You know, one of three mortal swords of Heaven."

Lea laughed and the sound was like the chime of twin perfect bells. "The sword had nothing to do with you, child. You were in the way of a business transaction. And I still say that as one of my hounds you shall never want. You would be looked after for eternity."

"Stop it," said Dresden. "You're making me blush."

She reached out to touch his face. He turned his head away from her reach, grimacing. "Don't be me mad at me, poppet. I did what I thought was best."

"You sold me to Mab," he retorted, sharply.

Her lips thinned and displeasure shone in her eyes. "Through no choice of my own. I'm growing in power and certain balances had to be checked, maintained. Your debt to me was the method that Mab chose to employ to restore the balance."

He looked interested at her claim, but the scowl was still apparent on his face. "Really? My debt to you was what she chose out of all things?"

Lea regarded him with a harsh look. "Don't underestimate your true value and potential."

"Uh," said Dresden, momentarily thrown off. "Thanks."

Harry cleared his throat. "Not that I don't enjoy a good row but can we speed this along. End of the world and all."

"Why is it that you called me here this evening?" asked Lea.

"I need to see the Mothers. Can you take me to them or to someone else who could help?"

Her expression went flat, blank of emotions. "Those are powerful forces you seek, much grander and terrifying than anything allied with your council of wizards."

Dresden jutted his chin out defiantly. "Can you help me or not? I need to find Reuel's killer or I'm as good as dead."

"Plus, the world is kind of on the line," interjected Harry, holding his hands up as they both looked at him. "Just putting that out there."

Lea nodded. "That it is. Come. Take my hand. Both of you."

He and Dresden shared a quick look. Harry didn't know her that well, but from what he had gathered so far she was as manipulative as she was gorgeous. And she was a very gorgeous high Sidhe. Dresden once again looked sideways at Harry, and then turned to his expectant godmother.

"You'll have to forgive my hesitation but what do you get out of this?" asked Dresden. "What's in it for you?"

Amusement danced about her face, and she crossed her arms around her rather ample chest. "I'm doing this to continue your life. What kind of godparent would I be if I let you die from this whole matter?"

"Right, because you've done a bang up job so far."

They both watched, Harry tensely, as the Sidhe closed her eyes. She opened her mouth and spoke. To both of their surprise her voice came out aged and cantankerous. "What's all that racket! I have already called the police, I have! You fruits get out of our hall or they'll lock you away!"

Dresden stared at her, dumbfounded. "That voice. Two days ago…That was you who distracted the troll in Reuel's apartment."

Harry rounded on him. "You were in Reuel's apartment? Did you use fire spells?"

Dresden blinked. "Yeah. A troll almost got the jump on me. How do you know that?"

"Elaine and I checked the place out. It must've been your residual magic she sensed."

Lea arched an eyebrow. "Don't you see that it was me protecting you, then? Now take my hands. Time is of the essence after all."

Thunder rumbled overhead and the light in the clouds flared brightly in response. Dresden stared for a long moment at the offered hand, took a breath and then took her hand. Harry looked at her skeptically, ignoring the hand stretched toward him.

"You have a bargain with him to do him no harm, but what's protecting me?" asked Harry. "What's to stop you from sticking it to Aurora and her court by taking me out?"

Irritation flickered in her eyes, quick and sharp. "You're wasting time with these questions, summerbound. Against his best judgment my godson and you are working together. He needs all the help he can gather to survive the coming affair. No harm will come to you by my hand."

He met her eyes without blinking, his stare turning undeniably cold. Those gold cat-slitted eyes were empty of any soul. Harry's glare conveyed exactly what he was thinking. _You fuck me over, and I will fuck you up._ Lea inclined her head at the silent communication, her rose red lips curling with humor.

He took her hand and Lea whispered to them to close their eyes. In Harry's case she said it twice. She spoke a lyrical, rolling language that felt familiar as a wind's caress and beautiful like the sunrise. A sensation washed over him like the ground was leaving him, almost like a freefall. If anything he would say he was flying. He hadn't been on a broom in years but the dizzying rush of movement was an old friend.

The movement stopped and the ground was firm and solid beneath their feet once again. Thunder rumbled louder than before, closer.

"Open your eyes," said Lea, her voice quiet and reverent. "We're here.'

The land was filled with a clinging fog that obscured the ground from view. As thunder rolled again the ground shook and light flared within the fog in a blue flash before slowly faded away. The landscape was filled with rising hills and slopping valleys. Stars glinted amidst the black sky, jewels of multiple colors instead of the normal pale silver.

"We're in the clouds," said Dresden in amazed disbelief. "What is this place?"

"It seems like clouds to you but it's so, so much more, poppet," she explained. "This place is beyond your mortal world."

He swallowed. "Are we in the Nevernever? The lands of Faerie."

She shook her head, looking at the landscape like it all was so very precious. "No. This more and less than the Nevernever. We're in between then and there. This is a sometimes place, the world between. Where Chicago and Faerie meet and overlap. A Chicago-over-Chicago. This is the place where the Queens call forth when the Sidhe desire to spill blood."

Dresden opened his mouth to ask her another question but stopped as he noticed his companion. Harry wasn't moving and hadn't since they had come to this place. To Dresden this place was a country within the clouds. For Harry it was something else entirely.

As soon as his foot settled silently upon the misty terrain his world exploded. His senses multiplied as his sight was filled with such wonder that it left him frozen in amazement. Beneath his feet he could feel more than the rumble of thunder. He could feel whole realms drifting, spinning through the infinite beyond. Cords of thin silver light, tinged with Killing Curse green, touched every part of his body and stretched off into countless directions.

Examining a particular cord sent his mind spiraling into strange places. His vision filled with images of himself, clothed in Auror blues, all bright eyed and smiling, with Ginny Weasley at his side and children about their feet. Other cords brought other sights, every one of them different and yet similar to the last. Each featured him in some way whether he was seated at the Hogwarts staff table eating dinner, dueling Death Eaters with a wand that hummed between his fingertips, unbeatable and old, or walking through the halls of a wondrous city that was ancient as it was majestic. Different times, different places, visions of him, every one of them.

"Hey," called Dresden, reaching out toward the other man. "Harry."

"Don't touch him," warned Lea, sharply.

It was too late. Dresden's hand touched Harry and he jumped, startled. The world tilted kind of crazily for a long moment then everything settled, returned to normal. The lines of probability stretching through the ether vanished, each thread slowly fading away. The ground became firm, solid, and the sensation of rotating alternate worlds beneath him disappeared leaving the soles of his feet tingly and itchy.

He came to awareness, gazing around with a sort of slow clarity. "What…"

"Are you okay?" asked Dresden studying his face carefully. "What happened?"

Harry shook his head, rubbing the back of his neck absently. "I don't… know."

Lea looked at him with an expression that was rapturous, curious and stunned. It was a rare expression for a high Sidhe to wear. She spoke slowly. "What are you?"

He dropped his hand tensing up. "What are you talking about?"

"This place triggered something within you," she said, tracing him with those gold, gleaming eyes. "Almost as if…"

He gritted his teeth. "Drop it."

After a long moment Dresden turned his weighing stare from the man to his godmother, his expression turning hard. "I agree. Let it go, godmother. We're here for a different purpose."

She inclined her head, giving them an opaque glance. "For now."

Dresden glanced at Harry, quietly asking, "You okay?"

"I'm fine."

"Are you going to have another episode?"

Harry shook his head, expression going distant, thoughtful. "No. Look, there's some things about me that aren't… normal, but I'm not a threat or a danger."

"I saw your soul," said Dresden. "I knew then that you weren't like everybody else."

Harry nodded his head feeling an unexpected surge of relief with the admittance. He turned away from the Sidhe's scrutinizing gaze. His eyes landed on a nearby table. It was enormous and made of grey stone, rising up from the white mist like something fit for a giant. The slab of stone rested on legs of rock that were as thick as the pillars of Stonehenge. In fact the entire structure brought vague inklings of being kin to the old monument. Lightning flashed from the ground and blue light washed over the table. Runes carved in the table came alive briefly glowing bright. He hadn't been a schoolboy in some time but he could recognize quite a bit of runes. He could see Sumerian and Norse, and Egyptian for sure.

He frowned mentally translating what he could of the writings. It told of sleeping gods and wars of aeons gone, and bargains of power and pacts sealed with blood.

"That's the Stone Table isn't it?" asked Dresden, studying the table. "I remember it from when I was a brown robe."

Lea gazed at the Stone Table like religious people looked at crucifixes, like it was something sacred. "Yes. Blood is power, and blood spilled upon that table forever joins with who holds it."

"Who holds it?" asked Dresden.

"It changes hands," she said, voice hushed. "Winter holds the table for half of the year. Then it lies within Summer for half."

Harry stretched his hand out, fingers almost touching the Table. "Summer holds it now…" he said, face pensive. "The Table feels…warm, the power is…It's like Summer fire, but _more_."

Lea nodded, gold eyes bright with interest. "The Summer Lord's right. Summer holds it for now. Midsummer it will belong once more to Winter."

Dresden studied the table earnestly. "So blood spilled on the table becomes part of whoever holds it. Summer for now. Tomorrow, Winter."

She tilted her head in approval, confirming his thoughts. Dresden held his hand near the table then carefully rested his palm against its surface. He jerked away with a hiss as wisps of smoke curled from his now blackened fingertips.

"It's like touching your tongue against a battery," he muttered, contemplative.

Lea walked around the table slowly like a lioness, inhuman eyes never leaving Dresden's. "You must understand this Table is of great importance. It doesn't just capture energy. The Table is directly linked to the Queen who rules."

Harry remembered a ritual in a graveyard from long ago. _Blood of the enemy forcibly taken_. "The power goes directly to the queen. If wizard blood is spilled on the surface then…"

"Mortal life. Mortal magic. In the hands of a faerie queen," said Dresden, taking a big step back. He eyed the table warily. "They'd be free of the normal laws of non-interference with mortals."

The wizards shared a serious look.

Lea completed her loop around the table. She pinned Dresden with a deep stare and quietly said, barely more than a whisper, "The battle before you is perilous and should you survive, child, do not let Mab bring you here. Never."

Dresden blinked taken aback by her warning. "Okay." He leaned heavily on his staff. "I thought you were going to help me. I don't understand why we're here."

"Look upon the truth before you. It is the only way."

She gestured at a pair of hills that stood side by side in a deep valley. Harry too focused on the hills but there was a shimmer and he found his sight suddenly blurred. He frowned. It was some type of Notice Me Not Charm or a glamour the faerie were so fond of.

"It's veiled," stated Dresden, studying the facing hills.

She nodded and said in a quiet voice, "Open your true sight."

Wizards in this world had an ability called the Third Eye, or the Sight. When using the Sight they were able to see things as they really were. The actual workings of magic were visible, bright and colorful, and veils were seen through, easily parted away like curtains. It was a two fold gift. While you could see things as they truly are, anything seen with the Sight stayed with you. Always. For good or bad.

Harry never bothered to look into seeing if he could learn the Sight. Dumbledore had ways of looking through invisibility cloaks or Disillusion Charms that Harry once attributed to a unique skill of the Headmaster. First year Auror training taught him different. The Eye of Ra was a charm that functioned much like the Sight, except whatever the caster saw wasn't forced to stay with them.

Dresden closed his eyes and unlocked his Sight.

Harry nonverbally cast the Eye of Ra.

When they looked upon the hilltops neither was sure who gasped. Energy danced within the valley, green and golden light, twirling and twisting, fighting for dominance within everything. The energy was in the mist at their feet. The air seethed with it and fell over the landscape in rays of dazzling bright light.

Phantom ice crystals spread across the ground as the cold cerulean light spread far. Wherever it went there followed a sea of gold light with blooming flowers in its wake. Cold overtook the flowers just to be melted away by the light, only to repeat the process over as the two sides battled. Neither force gave up as they warred through the valleys, alongside rivers and over hillsides and through fields.

The warring energies spilled from the hilltops, where at the tops shined two lights that shone like small stars. Within each light existed a shadow that was without a doubt a Queen of Faerie. The sight of them alone was enough to send an ache pounding between his brows. This was who they were really were. Creatures of power, primordial and eternal, and impossibly strong.

The shining beacon of white was cold as it was absolute and sent chills down his spine as he turned his sight upon it. Ice raced in his veins and he flinched as the energy was so awful, so much of everything that his senses couldn't keep up. The power of Winter unleashed burned bright against his corneas and its might ripped through his eardrums, scattering his thoughts and freezing his blood.

The other power filled his senses, then. It was hot, a thick suffocating heat, but he found that he didn't care. Where others would burn he found his shoulders straightening as the power of Summer recognized itself within him. He could hear it through his now soothed ears. It was a beckoning siren. A summon to stand by his Queen and be counted. He took a breath and dredged up every bit of willpower he could to _focus_. His Occlumency answered faithfully as his mind ordered, centered itself, and his thoughts flowed true and smooth.

Lea gripped them tight suddenly and the world whirled as sight and sound blurred. Then they were back. The waters of Lake Michigan stretched out before them and the rain fell lightly as the sky lit up with thunder and lightning. Harry glared at Lea as he helped Dresden to his feet. The man's eyes were bloodshot and he looked ragged, his face tight with pain and remembrance.

Harry narrowed his eyes. "He looked at them with his Sight. You should have just told him. It was too much."

"Summer protected you," she said sounding anything but apologetic. "And he had to see. To understand."

"A little warning in the future," Dresden muttered, wiping at his eyes with a heated glare. "Or is that an inconvenience to you?"

Lea didn't look the least put out by his pain or tone. "You had to be shown. It was the only way. No knowledge is gained freely. Have you pondered on what you learned?"

"The Queens they're fighting for the land, the area around the table," answered Dresden, voice tired but sure in his certainty. Summer holds it now but little by little Mab gains ground. It won't matter if Midsummer comes and its Winter's turn at the Table. Summer will keep Mab from it and prevent any spilled blood from increasing Winter's power."

Harry shook his head. "It's not about the blood. It's about summer power. The mantle of the Knight. Titania is holding the table to prevent Mab from using the table and adding the power of the Summer Knight to Winter."

Dresden nodded, concentration making his face go dark. "As of right now they're even. No one was getting the better of the other up there."

"As it should be," said Lea. "It has been that way since the dawn. Summer and Winter are matched evenly to keep the balance. Their power is more than enough to tear down Heaven's gates or eradicate those forgotten gods dreaming within the Stygian abyss. This vital balance is the reason above all that the battle is fought by those who serve."

"The Ladies," said Dresden. "The Knights."

Lea's eyes racked over Harry. "And the Lords. You heard the Call. Your queen calls you as mine calls to me. You will obey as will I."

Harry turned away from her stare and Dresden spluttered as she told him that the Emissaries were bound to the coming conflict as well.

Dresden scratched at his five o'clock shadow, thinking. "The way I saw it up there Summer was protecting the Table. That means that Titania thinks someone in Winter did it. Easy enough. Okay, this is where it gets tricky. Winter has the edge if they just wait till Midsummer. But Mab is responding and not waiting… So she's checking Titania's advance. That means she's as unsure as the rest of us in this twisted version of Clue… Reuel was killed in the study with the candlestick by…"

He stopped his epic ramble at the look Harry was giving him. "You were doing so well too."

"Everybody's a critic."

Harry rounded on the Sidhe suddenly. "Last time I checked I thought this whole rendezvous was about you helping us see the Mothers."

"That is not within my power. Mab and Titania could accomplish such an act but they're otherwise occupied wouldn't you say?"

Dresden clenched his fists and let out an angry sigh. "I have to see the Mothers. I need to."

"One doesn't just see the Mothers, child," she said frowning. "One can only answer an invitation. Now I must go. The lesser powers must take their places with the Queens, and I am needed shortly. Do see about getting a haircut, poppet. You look dreadful."

He rolled his eyes. "GQ told me the same thing."

"I must go. When the sun sets the Courts will do battle. You have till sundown, dear godson. Be careful." She looked Harry in the eyes. "I look forward to seeing you across the field of battle, Summer Lord."

"Look at me. I'm shaking with anticipation."

She did that not quite a smile again and took a step back. In mid air her form went liquid and she smoothly slid into the water with a splash that was drowned out by the lapping waves. Harry looked up at the sky, squinting through the rain, staring up at the thick black clouds. Light peeked out from the east. The sun was rising and in roughly fifteen hours war would be fought in the clouds in a place between the worlds.

"I need a drink," said Dresden with a groan. "Sun's coming up and the people we need to see are by appointment only."

With the light of dawn it became better to make out shapes now. They walked toward the parking lot where the Beetle was parked. Harry stuffed his hands in his pockets, kicking at rocks as they walked.

"I didn't want to have to see her again," began Harry. "But I could ask Aurora. She might already be with Titania gearing up. It's an option though."

Dresden shook his head. "Not like we got many of those." He lurched to a stop, grabbing Harry's arm to jerk him in place. "Stop." He tightened his grip on his staff and said barely audible. "We're being followed."

Harry felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up as he reached for his wand. He turned but already knew it was too late.

The air rushed out of him as arms grabbed him and the forward momentum sent him and his attacker skidding along the wet grass. Sharp knife like nails dug into his arm, pinning his wand against his body. A snarling inhuman face with thin grey skin and razor sharp, broken teeth snapped at his struggling form.

"_Forzare!"_

A sheet of crackling scarlet energy slammed into the creature hurling it away. Shrieking, the thing jumped to its feet. Harry scrambled away, adrenaline overriding any pain he felt. The hunch backed fiend was some bastardized mix of human and animal and something wholly other. The arms were disproportionately long to the short and stunted legs. He vaguely realized that the thing was female and she was pissed.

She snarled low and leaped. Harry's wand arched through the air firing off a Blasting Curse at the peak of her jump. It hit true and her arm flew off in a welter of bone and blood. She kept coming.

"It had to be ghouls!" Dresden shouted into the morning light. "_Fuego!"_

Fire rushed out in a lance of heat and energy and force. The ghoul took the brunt of it before it did a roll out of attack range. She was burned and smoking, but the creature wasn't done. It went on all fours charging at Dresden with a speed that was supernatural. Dresden raised his arm and a blue half sphere shimmered into being before him. From his duster he pulled out a wooden rod in the same stroke.

The ghoul went low, _under_ the edge of the shield, and came up one arm wide to grip his throat. She raised him up over a half a foot like a ragdoll. Dresden swung at her and there was a bang and a flash of light as raw magical energy caught her in the gut. She dropped him, doubling over.

Harry whipped his wand high and grabbed her with an Immobilizing Charm. The ghoul rose in the air, gripped by the invisible bonds of the spell. She hissed loudly, dripping blood from her thrashing body.

"Friend of yours?" Harry called out to Dresden.

Shapes jumped from the trees and air tackled the ghoul. Harry dropped the spell as a, _honest to Merlin_, pack of wolves descended upon the ghoul. She lashed out in defense with claws and teeth, swiping and biting at her attackers. When a wolf whined in pain it seemed to only send the pack into an angry frenzy, increasing their vigor.

"Now _those_ are my friends."

Harry frowned at the too big wolves. Something about them…. "Werewolves?" He gaped at Dresden's smug expession, as the pieces started to come together. "That phone call in the coffee shop, you called them… You knew she was following us this whole time."

"She was disguised but I recognized her in the shop," stated Dresden. "I don't know who she works for but she attacked me before when this whole mess first started. My best guess is—"

"Red Court," interjected Harry, trading a nod with the taller man. "They do fancy you in a body bag, mate. Uh, should we help them?"

Dresden rubbed his hand against his throat that was already started to bruise. He shook his head and pointed. The ghoul kicked at a wolf sending it staggering back and her claws caught the muzzle of another, gashing open the side of its face. She struggled to her feet in a mad scramble to run away. She barely made it to her hands and knees when a honey colored wolf darted in, knocking her arms from under her and her entire body crashed forward. With her back exposed that was all it took to finish her off.

They descended on her like a true pack of wolves. Her agonized screams died and were drowned out by the sound of a dozen howls. Flesh ripped open as their jaws tore into the body. They grabbed at her limbs tearing them away as easily as Harry blasted away her right arm. What was left wasn't recognizable. It was a jumble of chunks of flesh drenched in the sickly sweet smell of blood, with bits of bone poking out glinting pearl white.

Harry turned away. He wanted to manage to keep down whatever he could throw together for breakfast later on. The wolves drew away and Dresden thanked them. Harry wanted to ask how they assumed their form without the power of the full moon but that could wait.

"I owe you guys," said Dresden. "Pizza is definitely on me later."

A wolf made a noise that sounded like a low growl and a whine and Dresden laughed.

"Fine. Coke, too."

They threw back their heads and howled.

The temperature dropped between one breath and the next. They tensed up as their breath appeared in puffs of air as goosebumps appeared on their flesh. Harry gripped his wand tight and stood shoulder to shoulder with Dresden as the wolves spread out in a loose formation around them.

"Trouble," said Dresden, face going dark. "Something's coming."

Shadows stretched out along the ground in unnatural patterns. Forms crawled out of the dark pitch of the shadows, goblins and ogres and many other faerie creatures of malice. Growls rumbled through the air as hulking beasts moved amidst the trees before them. They were enormous and as the light struck them they were revealed as trolls.

Rising from the waters at their backs were humanoid fish-frog creatures that had bulging eyes and green-grey slippery skin, and crude tridents in their webbed hands. Their numbers continue to swell. More and more of them kept coming till there were over fifty of them to their thirteen.

"Think you must have pissed off the wrong people," said Harry, staring down the faeries surrounding them.

Dresden didn't take his eyes off the menacing creatures. "How so? I'm prince charming."

"You have to admit," Harry said, as he counted their enemies. "It's the most rational explanation and fits your M.O."

"I don't have to admit anything."

They met eyes and nodded. Both noticed the mix of creatures. These weren't only unseelie and seelie fae, but also wyldfae, those faeries usually neutral and not aligned with any court. Whoever or whatever summoned them was crafty. By employing faeries from both Courts and also the neutral fae, they managed to cover their tracks.

The trolls brandished their clubs and let out a deafening battle roar. The wolves howled their defiance and the front line of creatures branded forward. The wolves met their advance in a flash of fur. Harry cracked his wand and a sonic wave of inaudible sound struck a pair of ogres. They cried out as their eardrums punctured and they stopped short, clapping meaty palms over their bleeding ears.

Fire whirled at his back as Dresden's rod sent a lance of flame and power into the path of the frog-things. He cried out a spell in Latin and wind whirled to life with the bang of his staff. The whirlwind fed the fire and the flames grew, searing through flesh and burning the creatures in their paths.

A white flash of pain erupted in his head and Harry turned to an ogre brandishing a small and wickedly curved sword. He clutched at his wound glaring at his attacker.

"_Sectumsempra!_"

The Cutting Curse sawed through tendon and muscle in a colorless beam. The head flew off in one direction and the body fell in another. He ducked as a troll's club sailed over the space his head once occupied. He flicked his wand and jabbed it into the troll's thick hide. It screamed as its blood boiled within its body.

A gunshot sounded suddenly loud followed by another shot then another, as Dresden aimed a revolver at foolish goblins that hadn't realized the danger till too late. Hot lead met faerie flesh and burned them up from the inside, bursting their lungs and sending poison through their veins.

The wolves darted through the melee moving too fast for any faerie to really do them harm. If they happened to linger it was always in pairs, werewolves working together to tear apart faeries limb from limb until what was left was unrecognizable remains.

"_Terra Profundum!"_

Harry stomped his foot and the ground in a three meter wide circle broke away like glass. The slow to move trolls were the only ones to fall into the chasm to nowhere. Their screams were short as they fell through the earth as the infinite abyss led carried them to God knows where. Hopefully to Hell. The spell collapsed as his attention wavered, filling with soil and grass as if it had never been.

He dragged his wand wide and a sheet of lightning slammed into a dozen fetches. Lightning jumped from body to body and their temporary forms shifted and wavered as volts of electricity coursed through their bodies. They fell to the ground in half melted puddles of flesh and ectoplasm as their deaths caused their bodies to lose form and shape.

Dresden bit back a scream as a trident pierced his side. He growled with anger and his staff slammed into the skull of the fish-frog creature that wielded the weapon. Its skull caved in. It sounded like somebody stomping on a bottle. Dresden spun around as the faeries smelled blood, swarming around him in numbers to go in for the kill.

"I'll be damned to be taken out by you bastards!" yelled Dresden his staff raised high as the air charged around him. _"Fuego! Fuego! Pyrofuego!"_

The air exploded in light and fire. A twisting tornado of flame swirled to being in a deadly attack. It was at least nine meters high and blazed with an intensity born of rage and anger and the will of Dresden. He raised his arms and the twister responded in kind. It was an impressive piece of magic that Harry was sure could rival any fiendfyre he had ever seen.

The cyclone circled around and around the wizard killing any faerie without a healthy sense of self preservation. The fire consumed any caught up faeries till there was nothing left. The inferno raged violently, taking out faeries with ease and completely cutting their numbers till there was less than a twenty to deal with.

Harry fought his way to the wizard's side, banishing and blasting and cutting without pause as he made a path through the horde. The inferno died leaving Dresden clutching at his side sucking in huge gulps of air. He conjured that blue shield again and mustered a lance of light to repeal the goblins that tried to jump him.

"Fancy meeting you here," said Harry from Dresden's side.

Dresden raised his gun and fired point blank at an ogre. The bullet exploded out of the back of its head, the lead doing intense damage to the susceptible faerie physiology.

For Harry the urge to use the Killing Curse was strong but using it repeatedly was a temptation that he couldn't fall into. Using that spell multiple times chipped away at your soul and eventually messed with your mind. Good thing he didn't mind getting his hands dirty.

Harry pushed Dresden out of the way and he rolled away as a heavy looking troll hammer rocketed toward them. A troll, bigger and meaner than all the others, lumbered forward. Attention diverted, he didn't notice the goblin sneaking up on him. Claws ripped into his shoulder and Harry kicked the goblin in its throat and its head jerked back, wheezing and gurgling up blood.

His wand came up pointed at the troll with the spell of death on his lips. The troll steps came to a halt and it suddenly froze as a visible glow built up within its exposed abdomen. The light grew brighter and without warning a sword pierced the torso, glowing blinding white. It twisted sharply and the troll fell to its knees, eyes going wide and glassy. It collapsed to the ground with a low boom.

A man stood behind the fallen troll. He was tall and built like a linebacker and wore a five o'clock shadow that looked perfect with his plaid shirt and worn jeans. Harry wondered if he was delusional. Was there really a lumberjack holding a glowing broadsword standing before them. He blinked. Still there.

"Who are you?" asked Harry, eying the man and the creatures that suddenly paused, unsure and cautious of the new player.

"I'm a Knight of the Cross. I've been sent by the Lord and by His will I was led here. I will smite all those that serve the blackest night."

Dresden stared at him incredulous. _"Michael?"_

Michael sent the wizard a smile then eyed the remaining faeries. "No time to talk. I'll explain once this conflict is ended."

With a war approaching in less than fifteen hours and going on no sleep, Harry wouldn't knock a gift or a miracle. If divine intervention was working in their favor then maybe they had a shot at coming out on top of this whole thing. Seeing at how things were going not great so far they needed all the help, lumberjack or not, they could get.

Plus, that sword—_wicked_.

* * *

Didn't realize that it's been six months since I updated. So I had to fix that. Things are starting to diverge from the book and things will get AU in the future so the ending that's in the book will not happen the same way. More to come on Michael the knight and the allusion of Harry's unknown powers that haven't been explained.


	18. Burn Them All to Ash

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter either. It belongs to its creator J.K. Rowling and probably Warner Bros. too. I'm not too sure about that. This piece of literature is simply the work of a humble fan. I also credit Jim Butcher for various themes, subjects, or references that I may use.

Author Notes: This is a Harry Potter crossover with the Dresden Files the book series. All my knowledge of the Dresden Files comes from the books. I've never seen the TV series. For the timeline that will be stated later. Thanks to the folks at DLP for help with editing.

* * *

**Awaken Sleeper.  
**Chapter Seventeen: Burn Them All to Ash  
by: Water Mage

A werewolf pack, a lumberjack, and two wizards walk into a bar – it sounded like the start of a bad joke. No one was laughing. Replace bar with a cramped off campus apartment and you have the gist of it.

When the werewolves were fully human they were a group of college co-eds who looked like they should be sunbathing at the beach. The guys could double as Rugby players and the girls had curves like Victoria Secret models. These Alphas, as they called their pack, could shift at will, and Harry was reminded briefly of Remus Lupin and what could never be.

"So you're like some holy roller with a sword?" asked one of the Alpha's, a stocky boy with a red faux hawk.

Jerking his thumb at the loudmouth, Dresden aimed a smirk at Michael. "Kids today."

"I'm my father's humble servant," said Michael with a half smile. "I do the best I can with the tools available to me."

Billy cleared his throat. He was pack leader and his girlfriend, Georgia, sat next to him and earlier kept apologizing about the clutter in the apartment much to Billy's embarrassment. "Is it true your sword was forged using one of the nails from Christ's crucifixion?"

Michael nodded and laid his hand along the hilt of the sword resting across his knees. "This is one of the three Swords of the Cross. _Amoracchius _has been at my side through good times and bad."

"Holy sword, you're some type of knight of a bright and shiny order, and you kick ass," said Harry, causing all heads to snap in his direction. He shrugged at Dresden's glower. "This is lovely but we need the cliff notes version. We're on a time schedule. World's ending, mate."

Dresden rolled his eyes. "There goes the myth of every British gentlemen being polite."

"Jealous," said Harry with his poshest accent. "You wish you had my manners." He faced Michael, and the humor faded from his face. "You said you were sent here? Should we expect more allies, because we're going to need all the help we can get."

Michael shook his head, mouth tilted in a somber frown. "There are matters the other knights must attend to. I was sent not only to help, but I also carry a message."

"From?" asked Dresden, pointing a finger up toward the ceiling.

"An angel came to me in a vision," said Michael without missing a beat. "I was told an old friend needed my help to battle frightening and terrible forces, and I was lead to you, Harry."

Dresden grinned without much warmth at his old friend. "Welcome to the team. We're in the fourth quarter, and frankly we could use a miracle at this point."

"Wow," Harry muttered. "Optimistic you are _not_."

Michael faced Harry and he went silent at the utter seriousness on the knight's face. He might look like a lumberjack but Michael Carpenter carried the same supreme confidence that Professor Dumbledore once exuded.

"The angel told me that in the battle to come, Harry Potter must stand up and be counted," said Michael staring into Harry's eyes without blinking, as if he could hear how fast Harry's heart was beating from across the room. "The angel said I mustn't forget to tell you—three words: _don't hold back_."

"Heavenly voicemail. Great," Dresden said, turning to Harry with a raised eyebrow. "You know what he's talking about?"

Harry's mouth went bone dry, and his eyes were long since fixed on the back of his hands. When he did answer it was quiet, but his tone carried certainty behind it, "Yeah—I know."

He crossed the room muttering an excuse about getting fresh air. He was outside on the porch before anyone could question it. Harry squinted up at the sun. Somewhere there was an identical sun beaming down on a planet he once called home.

_Don't hold back_. It wasn't a conscious decision on his part, the way he'd been limiting his magic in public. Rather it was a survival instinct on not showing just how different he was from the locals who'd put him on trial for even casting a confundus charm, or outright kill him. Survival instants were a bitch. Magic was much more fluid here. It wasn't a tool like he was taught to use it as. Wizards here couldn't sidestep space/time with a turn, warp reality to expand the dimensions of an interior with a few charms, or call matter into being from nothing. And yet he'd seen and heard of how terrible their magic could be— necromancy to raise entire graveyards, curses that could burn through a family's bloodline, and awful spells that unleashed demons into the mortal world.

Was it really necessary for him to show his hand? _Don't hold back_. Heaven apparently knew something he didn't. It's not like it was the first time he'd gotten advice from upstairs—he never told anyone about meeting Dumbledore in the limbo-Kings Cross after Voldemort killed him that last battle.

"Don't hold back, huh?" he muttered to the empty air.

His wand felt heavy in his pocket. Well, if this was the end of the world. He might as well go down fighting like the Auror he used to be. Heaven wanted him to act like the wizard he was, and Harry wasn't going to disappoint. If he could get in a shower before then and a little sleep that would just be a bonus.

"Excuse me, you're blocking the stairs."

Harry shook his head clear. The voice came from a scrawny boy carrying a stack of pizza boxes. Harry moved just as the front door opened and Billy came striding out of the apartment. He grinned at the sight of the towering stack.

"I thought I smelled pepperoni. Here let me grab a few of these, Fix," said Billy, transferring the load to his arms and leaving Fix with only one box, which he didn't seem to mind by his relieved smile.

Dresden held the door for them as they darted inside. He stepped onto the porch beside Harry and was about to say something when a young woman came striding across the lawn. Her hair was the same green as the grass, and her blunt face and rather muscular body triggered the thread of knowledge that was pulling at him since spotting Fix moments ago.

"Changeling," Harry murmured.

The white dandelion hair of Fix's was the first clue these two weren't human, or rather weren't fully human. They were half mortal and half fae. They had the choice to remain a mortal or become wholly fae. Changelings they were known as, or Meanwhiles, depending on if people were being rude or not.

"Winter Court," said Harry, staring at the changeling girl. "You and your friend both serve Winter."

She stiffened, shoulders visibly tightening. "Only because we haven't chosen. We're under the rule of the Court of our fae father. Winter. Who are you anyway?"

"Relax, Meryl." Dresden stepped forward, holding out a hand to the woman who was staring at Harry with narrowed eyes under a curtain of muddy green hair. "He's with me."

Harry was marveling at the new sensation of his Summer power reacting to the changeling like a sonar. Her aura gave off an invisible coldness, but it was light like an echo. Like it was not really a part of her, yet nonetheless it was still a tie to Winter as faint as it was. Okay, so that was kind of cool.

"Your friend got a name?"

He tried to appear nonthreatening, because it wasn't his intention to bait her. "Harry Potter."

Meryl's eyes flew open. "You!"

"You've heard of me?" said Harry with faux delight, making Dresden sigh exasperatedly.

"You're Aurora's husband. Ron told us about you," replied Meryl, looking decidedly less hostile now.

Harry's shoulders slumped. "Oh yeah, that. Can't deny that one. Wait, Ron—as in Ronald Reuel, the Summer Knight?"

Meryl nodded. "Ron was our protector. He protected us from the Winter Lady and her Court. They liked to torture me, Fix, and the other changeling kids." She rolled her lips between her teeth and the show of vulnerability made her look suddenly young. "I think Lloyd Slate might have run off with Lily now that Ron's gone."

"The Winter Knight. He got off on pushing around her friend, Lily," Dresden explained under his breath to Harry.

Meryl looked pleadingly at Dresden. "Have you gotten any leads on Lily yet?"

"I'm sorry. Not yet. I _will _find her though," Dresden promised.

The post-it note Harry found in Reuel's apartment came to mind and its allusive message was clear now the blanks had been filled. The signer of the note was named Meryl and turned out she found him before they found her.

"I'm sorry about Reuel's death," said Harry. She looked away with a sad frown. "I only met him once but he was kind to me. We'll find out who did this."

"They call you the Sun Sorcerer in some circles," said Meryl.

Harry raised an eyebrow. "And in other circles?"

"Aurora's lonely boytoy."

Harry rolled his eyes ignoring Dresden's snort of laughter. That was probably just some Winter Sidhe gossip. Those cold bastards loved relating something back to kinky dungeon sex. It was the way they rolled. Dresden leaned against the porch's railing.

"I think the second one is pretty spot on," said Dresden, crossing his arms with a ridiculous grin.

"So," said Harry, mirroring Dresden's smile. "You're a dick."

"Don't be like that. I thought we had that give and take thing going on."

"I don't recall this."

Meryl walked up the stairs. "We don't have a lot of time left do we?"

Dresden's smile dropped, as he racked a hand through his shaggy hair. "Afraid not. I feel like it's all there I just can't _see _it."

"Good luck. I hope there's still a world to live in for Lily to come home to." Meryl went into the noisy apartment and shut the door.

A crackle of thunder exploded in the distance disrupting the quiet of the afternoon. Lightning flashed across the sunny sky. It was fascinating to watch but utterly heart stopping knowing that it was precluding supernatural Armageddon.

"The Courts are about to destroy this world," said Harry. He stared at the lightning shooting through the clouds.

"We have to find that damn mantle," said Dresden, scowling. He looked at Harry. "This won't end until we find out who killed Reuel."

Harry shrugged. "I'm open to ideas, mate."

Dresden shoved his hands into his jeans. "We have to talk to the Mothers. They're the strongest of the Queens. They know the most. "

"We'll be lucky if we can get information out of them without getting killed by one of their stray thoughts," Harry pointed out. He knotted his hands together against the rail he leaned against. "They're practically considered goddesses in Faerie."

"Which is why we have to be smart and damn it, a little lucky, too. Look I know this is insane, but we're out of options. And like you said, end of the world. What else have we got to lose, huh?"

A grin tugged at Harry's lips at having his own words thrown back at him, and Harry looked down at the ground so Dresden couldn't see the burgeoning smile. It's been a long time since he met someone who challenged him like this, made him go against the grain and defy the odds. Dresden was a genuinely fascinating person, the closest thing to a Gryffindor here. It was refreshing.

He shuffled his feet. Okay then. "Fine. Looks like I owe the misses a phone call."

If only it were that simple. He hoped that Aurora was in a good mood. She absolutely loved drawing out the opportunity to make Harry jump through hoops for a favor. It was a Sidhe thing. Harry pulled out his wand and then turned to Dresden.

"Mind opening a Way for me?"

"Are you insane?" said Dresden, he paused and held up a hand. "Wait, don't reply to that. Married to a faerie answers that. Anyway, you have no idea what's waiting on the other side if I open a gate here into the Nevernever. A gateway here could lead into Mab's throne room for all you know."

"Aww, are you worried about me?"

"Quit batting your eyelashes at me. It makes you look like a baby clown. And dumb."

"That's rude!" Harry said cheerfully, laughing at Dresden's glower. "Oh, come on. Like Mab's throne room isn't warded against gating directly in. Second, it doesn't matter. We're not going in. Prongs Two is."

Dresden squinted at him suspiciously. "What's that mean?" He sighed loudly at Harry's sphinx like smile, muttering about Elaine and bad manners

Dresden flexed his fingers and there was a tingle in the air as he thrusts his arms out. Dresden's hands blazed with scarlet and gold light, and he muttered a word that made space tremble. The gathered light in his hands cut the air and burned it away like fire to gasoline, like rain water pooling in the street—and reality was torn away as the magic ripped open a gigantic hole between the two planes. The gate looked like a child had taken a pair of scissors to a sheet of construction paper; it was messy and uneven looking at its glowing edges.

"A little sloppy," Dresden said defensively to Harry's incredulous stare. "Not bad without my staff for a focus."

Harry stared at the massive gateway. "I can see how you started a war with the Red Court and still live. Without that staff you're like a flamethrower without a safety valve."

"You have no idea," replied Dresden and left it at that.

Harry cobbled together a happy memory. It definitely wasn't a recent one. An image of Ron and Hermione came to mind—the three of them in the Gryffindor common room, and while they weren't doing anything special, the memory of his two best friends effortlessly lightened his heart with a joyful fondness.

"_Expecto Patronum!_"

Light exploded from Harry's wand and the glowing form of his patronus galloped into being. Dresden actually jumped back from the incorporeal stag with a curse. The ethereal looking beast looked around for danger and finding none it turned to Harry with an almost expectant stare upon its silvery face.

"Hell's bells," Dresden swore, staring at the patronus. He looked impressed and bewildered all at once. "Did you just conjure a spirit guardian of earth with a goddamn wand wave?"

A what? Harry would have to look that up later. "_This_ is Prongs Two. He's right useful in a fight or for things like this." Harry held the wand tip to his throat and said, "_Aurora it's your dear husband. Do me a favor and ring up granny and arrange a chat for me and Dresden. We have to talk to the Mothers like yesterday_."

He dragged his wand away from his throat, and a golden orb phased from his skin hovering above the wand's tip. Harry flicked his wand sharply sending the orb catapulting through the air. It shot straight into the side of the stag's long, elegant neck, and the patronus shimmered gold momentarily.

"Go straight to Aurora," Harry ordered.

The stag galloped away so fast that it was flying as it leaped into the gateway. It disappeared between the trees of the dark woodland scene on the other side. Leaves scattered in the wake of the gust of wind it kicked up, blowing green and brown tinted leaves onto the lawn—substance of the spirit word, which fell apart into gelatin like goo, clear and already evaporating, the ectoplasm left over when spirit matter returned to its natural state.

Dresden closed up the gate behind the patronus and fixed Harry with a piercing stare. "Okay, so what was that?"

"Prongs Two," Harry said slowly. He tilted his head. "I thought I said that."

And that earned him an eye roll. "Stars and stones, Potter. What was Prongs One?"

"There was no Prongs One. It was just Prongs. Prongs One sounds terribly silly don't you think. Prongs was my dad and Prongs Two looks just like him, so." Harry shrugged at Dresden's blank stare. "I know. It's not very original. Do you think I should come up with something cooler?"

"Your dad was a deer?"

"Stag technically."

"You're being difficult on purpose, aren't you?"

"At this point it's so easy I can't stop."

Dresden and Harry shared a small smile. It really was kind of fun having a go at each other. At the very least it helped take their minds off everything gong to shit soon. Dresden stared at a car passing by. He didn't take his eyes off it when he asked Harry, "You're not White Council. Magic is different around you. I can't explain it."

It wasn't surprising he was being questioned. It was surprising it hadn't come up sooner. Harry cleared his throat. "I'm a wizard," he took a breath and said, "Like you."

The car turned a corner and disappeared. It was three heartbeats before Dresden's quiet but sure, "Not like me," followed.

Harry didn't have a single clue as to what ideas were growing in Dresden's head. No doubt there was a mental list with possibilities and he was ticking off what Harry could or couldn't be. He hoped Dresden wouldn't go off tattling to the White Council. The man was good in a fight.

"When we soulgazed you saw I was a good guy. Is that enough?"

Dresden rubbed at the shadow of a beard over his left cheek. "Looking at your soul knocked me on my ass. Never had a soulgaze do that."

For Harry it wasn't the first time someone had looked upon his soul and suffered. "So what did you see?"

"What didn't I see," said Dresden grumbling. He paused for a minute, thinking back. "I saw this comet. It was like death and it gave off this green light. It was heading toward you, but there was this girl, a woman really. She was beautiful. Her eyes reminded me of yours, and she had red hair. She's sitting on her knees in front of you and her hands were together, like she was praying. You stood behind her and there were these three lights, they might have been objects or something, they were so bright I couldn't tell—but they kept circling around you. And at your back was a firestorm. I don't know how else to put it. It was like the damn sun was linked to you or something."

Harry was reeling. He wished he could say he didn't understand what the hell Dresden was talking about. But everything was making sense. Too much sense actually. And he didn't know how to feel. Dresden continued talking—

"Then I looked left and right and that's when I went on a bad acid trip. It was you, all of them were you, shoulder to shoulder, and they were the same and different all at once. Then there was this whisper and it was like hundreds and hundreds of people in my head and then it _hurt_. I think it would've made me insane if I continued looking."

Harry looked at him, and the thing is. The thing is, it wasn't so much shocking that his soul was basically a maelstrom of metaphysical imprints. It _was _shocking that looking at the core of him drove people to hysterics. And he had no idea why. It couldn't have been Voldemort's handiwork. Every piece of him was destroyed with steel, fire, venom and sacrifice. He was dead as dead got along with his influence.

"Defense mechanism," said Harry, lying through his teeth. "I had my soul tampered with once before. Wasn't fun."

It wasn't a great lie, but there's no way in hell he was admitting to not understanding why his soul brought on madness. That wasn't normal. It didn't even sound human. The sad part was he couldn't even blame Aurora. This was older than his first dealing with faeries.

Dresden didn't poke holes in his lie. He was too busy staring down the street again. A fog rolled in from nowhere and not even half a minute past before a carriage smoothly slid from its depths. It rolled down the street, drawn by a pair of horses. One horse was blue-white like it had been drowned, and its hooves made the ground ice over. The other was grass green, its mane sown with wildflowers. When its hooves touched the ice it melted instantly to pools of water. The carriage was driver-less just like at Hogwarts. The horses came to a halt directly before them, the horses' hooves startling silent and the carriage door swung open. Inside it was empty.

"Definitely not thestrals," Harry muttered. He smoothed his frown into something that could be considered a smile. "Harry Dresden, get your coat. Our rides here."

Dresden took a glance around. The muggles didn't seem to notice the out of place carriage or its otherworldy horses pulling it. Glamour was a faeries most potent magic, and the Mothers wielded it to supreme perfection. If it was enchanted to go unseen it would take a hell of a wizard to break it, probably more than one wizard.

"I'll go get my stuff," said Dresden. "Time to nut up or shut up."

* * *

Whereas the Hogwarts carriages were a bumpy ride, this one was so smooth that it felt like they were barely moving. Dresden and Harry sat on opposite benches facing each other. Dresden's gym bag rested between their feet on the floor. Harry toed at the bag and Dresden looked like he was about to stab him in the calf.

"What's in the bag, an armory?"

Dresden shot him an opaque smile. "You'll see."

"Hey now, secrets don't make friends."

"You're a chatty thing, huh?" Dresden asked, glancing out the window. "Hope you ready for this."

Harry was probably more ready than he was. In the back of his mind he always knew in the end he would go head to head with faeries. He'd been running for so long because he didn't want to get sucked into their mess, and here he was riding to see the Queen Mothers themselves. Hopefully they wouldn't tear him apart. Aurora would probably save his life once more, and then he would owe her _again. _Probably a baby. He shook his head to clear it.

The veil that masked the carriage was so strong that cars gave it a wide berth, like the ministry cars from his world. It slid through traffic without problems and nearly a minute later the fog rolled up again. The mist brushed against the windows and blocked out the view of the city, along with the noise. It was strangely silent except for the hooves of the horses. Dresden hummed the theme of what Harry thought was the Twilight Zone.

"It's not creepy enough or anything."

Dresden chuckled without much mirth. "It's either that or I start thinking too much. And I need a clear mind when talking to the Mothers."

"I hear that," said Harry with a nod. The last thing he needed was for another faerie queen to one-up him. He couldn't shake Aurora after her last machination.

The ride ended not even a full five minutes later, and the door swung open. Harry looked up from withdrawing his wand to witness Dresden zipping open his gym bag. He took out a long staff and a short rod, and a sword cane that he slipped through his belt. Then he pulled out a silver pentacle amulet to lie open on his chest.

"What?" Dresden asked to Harry's stare.

Harry gave him a flat look. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize I was traveling with Batman. Got enough weapons?"

Dresden made a show of patting down his pockets. "I'm missing my grenades, so no." He smirked at Harry's wand. "Whenever you want to upgrade from that training stick I'll throw a party. We can have ice cream cake."

"I swear to God if that's another crack about me being younger than you," said Harry, as they go out of the carriage.

"Think about it, Hardy Boy."

They took a look around their surroundings. The grass was wet and spongy and they were surrounded by low, rolling hills covered by thick fog. Harry wondered if it was the same fog that veiled the carriage in the mortal world. Trees dotted the landscape, twisted and battered looking things worn by time. It was sad when a place was drearier than the Forbidden Forest.

"We sure aren't in Mab's lands. There's not a lick of frost anywhere," said Harry, peering into the distance. Titania's influence was strong in her dominion and there wasn't a wildflower to be seen. "We're past Titania's reach, too."

"Maybe this is neutral territory," Dresden pointed out, tracking a single raven flying above their heads. "Or the edge of Faerie. There's more to the Nevernever than the realm controlled by the Queens."

Like the Outside and the Netherworld, and his own universe somewhere beyond. Harry snorted. "Trust me. I know."

Dresden shot him a speculating glance, but Harry wasn't elaborating. He was watching the raven now. It landed on a nearby tree. The bird was a sad looking creature. Like everything else here it looked like it had seen better days. It stared at them with beady black eyes.

"You don't think…"

"What?" said Harry, raising an eyebrow. "You don't think we should follow it or something, do you?"

The raven let out a loud caw that carried into the empty air. The carriage started up without warning and it vanished into the mist, even as the raven flapped its decrepit looking wings and settled on another tree branch, a lot farther away. Even from this distance, almost out of sight Harry could feel the thing's eyes on them.

Dresden didn't bother hiding his smug smile. "Does that accurately answer your condescending question?"

"Oh, I see. Being right for once has made you cruel."

"And being wrong hasn't made you any less of a chatterbox."

Harry started forward after the bird. "Really, Dresden, keep on and you might hurt my feelings."

"This bantering makes me feel like we're in a bad buddy cop movie," Dresden replied, as they stalked off across the swampy marsh following the raven, as it flapped from tree to tree. Harry kept his eyes peeled and wand out, because he might be of Summer but there was no telling what lurked in the otherworldy fog creeping around them.

The raven led them to a slopping hill and the ground was wetter here, softer. The mist was no less thick in this place and on a slight rise of ground was a stone cottage. The roof was made of thatch and the lit up windows were bright even in this distance. The raven landed on one of the stone obelisks surrounding the mound in a loose ring. Well, one of the standing ones at least, some fallen and others were cracked. They had seen ages come and go, and would see those that were to come.

"Smells like mildew," said Dresden, as they came to the door.

Harry took a long sniff and nodded. "Smells like dying things, like decay. But there's something else, like roses and the smell of dirt after rain. Weird." He regarded the snowflake carved into the weathered looking door. "Wintermark. Looks like we have the right place."

The door opened with the sound of rusty hinges just as Dresden raised his hand to knock. His eyebrows shot into his hairline and he and Harry shared a look. It shouldn't be creepy, considering the shit he'd seen, but this was the de facto God Queen of the bad fae door they were knocking at. If he wasn't a little nervous then that made him a fucking moron.

The voice that came from inside drifted out in a mere whisper that made the hairs on Harry's neck stand up. "Don't be scared dearies, come in out from there. Winter is coming. You won't like the cold that's returning this year."

If Dresden audibly gulped Harry didn't call him on it. They stepped across the threshold into the cottage. It was all one room, and it looked like he'd stepped back in time about two hundred years or so. The floors were wooden and dry, and the shelves along the walls were old and lined with knickknacks. Like _dear Merlin_, were those sets of teeth, curved knives set with jewels, an iron horn, and a copper colored skull with fanged teeth and three eye sockets. Near the fireplace was a loom resting in the corner, and a spinning wheel before it. A rusty pair of scissors looked ancient in the fire's light resting on the table beside a rocking chair, occupied. It squeaked as it moved, a shrouded and bundled figure in black cloth moved minutely underneath all that fabric.

"I would think all this was worth it if only to lay eyes on you two fascinating magi," said that whispering thin voice from the chair. "Very fascinating."

A noise of agreement came from the other side of the cottage. Dresden and Harry spun around to face the newcomer who hadn't been there when they entered. The woman was wiping down jars on the shelves and cleaning dust like she'd been doing it all along. She was stooped with age, but there was wisdom and a whisper of power in her green eyes that peered at them from an aged face. "Indeed. I feel it, too. You're to be her spear, Grandson. Come here."

The no was on the tip of his tongue, but Harry didn't care to have it ripped out. "Um," he said unintelligently, crossing over to the woman. "You're Mother Summer?"

"Yes, dear. And this is Mother Winter," she gestured at the creaking chair. "She would stand to get a closer look at you, but the weather isn't agreeing with her yet. She and I have been curious about you. Most curious. The human wizard who lived and lived."

His heart tripped. Harry fought against taking an instinctive step back. "How do you know that?"

"The fire that links you to her connects you to me. I sit at the heart of that flame. I can see all that you are and were, from your first flight from death until you became its Master." Mother Summer stared at him with glittering eyes. She turned to Dresden then. "You've walked a hard road. There's strength in you, boy. You must remind her of—yes, I can see why Mab chose you."

Mother Summer went back to dusting and Harry gave him a look. Dresden cleared his throat. "Excuse me, but um—we're a little pressed for time. We've actually come to ask you ladies some questions."

It was eerie when Winter's head turned slightly toward him, as simultaneously Mother Summer stopped in her cleaning to regard him with sharp eyes. Harry's fingers twitched and it took effort not to draw his wand or apparate the hell out of here. Mother Summer put him on edge with her earlier words. She didn't just claim to know about him, Mother Summer even named dropped his Master of Death title that even few in his world knew about it. He hadn't brought it up since waking up here _ever_.

"What would you ask of us?" said Summer. "You presume we give answers freely, because you're Sidhe-contracted. We're the Queens of Queens. We answer to no one."

Mother Winter chortled underneath her shawl. "Quick to anger the fire is. Our cooperation isn't free, wizard. Answer your questions we will and you'll answer ours."

Impatience was visible across his face as quick as it appeared and Dresden nodded. "Okay, fair's fair. Ask."

The Mothers didn't dally. They went right in asking him what was more important, the body or the soul. Dresden deliberated and said in a stilted but thorough answer that the soul was more important than the body. Mother Summer smiled and walked to the fire. She removed a baking sheet with a long handle from the flame and set it on a rack to cool.

"He sees it just as she does. But the child is doing what's necessary. Even if it's not our way." Mother Summer sighed and shook her head.

"Reconsider your words, Halcyon Queen," whispered Winter. "Half truths _is_ our way, the Sidhe way. Yet, nevertheless she is what she is. It's her nature now."

"I knew it!" said Dresden, interrupting them. "It's Maeve, isn't it? That's who you're talking about."

If Harry hadn't spent the better part of his life grasping at clues and following the subtle advice of Professor Dumbledore he would've been right there with him. But the patience to see through a parting of information-disguised as tea time stilled his tongue. Mother Summer chuckled as she poured steaming tea into a pair of cups. She added cream and honey and gave one to Mother Winter. They took a sip and it was Winter who eventually answered him.

"Your kind are called wizards for a reason," said Winter in a wheezing voice. "It means, the wise. Use your brain, boy. What will happen tonight?"

Dresden sighed impatiently. "It will be Midsummer and the balance will tilt back to Winter, and Maeve will try and use the Stone Table to steal the Summer Knight's power for keeps."

And that was a damn good theory, Harry had to admit. Things weren't looking good for the Winter Lady. But there was something missing. This was looking like the sorcerer's stone all over again. Then, Harry and Hermione and Ron had been ready to stop Snape at any cost, when in fact it had been Quirrell all along, or Voldemort—he wasn't really sure who was the brains behind that operation in the end.

"Why?" said Harry, speaking up and making them all look at him. "Ask why. No— I mean ask, _how. _"

Summer let out pleased noise. "Very good, grandson."

It was the only question now. They knew the why's. Theft is theft and power is power. The stolen mantle started a war between Winter and Summer as it should have, both sides expected treachery, and they were gathering now at the Stone Table to do battle.

Dresden crossed his arms, frowning thoughtfully. He started to think out loud. "All that power has to go somewhere. The power of the Summer Knight, his mantle, it can't just exist on its own. It can't just evaporate. It has to have a vessel."

"That's correct," said Winter. "Within one of the Queens or the Knights."

Dresden looked suspiciously at Harry, and Mother Summer shook her head. "Or a Lord."

"_Oi!" _

"And it isn't with one of the Queens," he murmured aloud.

"It's not," said Summer. "We would sense it, were it so."

"That would mean it's already in another Knight," said Harry. Something was missing, still. "If that's the case, there shouldn't be an imbalance. So that—"

"I got it," said Dresden grimly. His eyes were dark. "There wouldn't be an imbalance if the power has been changed. Unless the new Knight has been changed. Turned into something else, transformed into something that would make all that power useless, trapped and inert."

The Mothers stared silently, their gazes heavy, and the wizards knew they were on the right track.

"Ask it," they said together.

Dresden took a breath. "How does the mantle pass on to the next Knight?"

This time when Mother Summer smiled there wasn't anything warm about it. "It returns to the nearest reflection of itself. To the nearest vessel of Summer. With the power invested in her, she will then choose the next Knight."

Then there was silence.

"No," said Harry, surprising himself with the vehemence behind it.

Dresden wouldn't look at him. "It makes sense. Titania wouldn't go to war against Mab if she knew where the mantle was. Mother Summer wouldn't be telling us this if she did it, so that only leaves—"

Harry clenched and unclenched his right hand and muttered, "Aurora."

"The hour grows near when paths will be chosen and the lost will be found," said Winter.

Mother Summer set her teacup down. "Things must return to their natural order. You will be our hand in this matter."

"The catalyst of change is upon us," continued Winter.

"Be the guiding force upon which the wheel turns."

Dresden held up hands. "Hey now, let's just shut the barn door on that. Can't I just take this to Titania and Mab. That's what I'm supposed to do."

"The time for talking has passed. The Queens have called up the land of Tir Na Nog. The fae go to war this day," said Winter.

Harry frowned. "But can't you two do something. You said you're the Queens of Queens, so stop them. Call Mab and Titnania off. You can make them listen."

Winter's creaky voice made his blood freeze, "Not that simple, lordling."

Summer nodded. "The power we have cannot be used in all matters, even ones as dire as this. Bound, we are, like all ones ascended to the place we sit. We cannot interfere with the Queens or Ladies. It's taboo."

"Typical political malarkey," Dresden muttered. He narrowed his eyes and said with a touch of sarcasm, "What _can_ you do?"

Mother Summer glanced at Harry and then looked again at Dresden, "I? Nothing."

They both turned to Mother Winter sitting in her noisy rocking chair. She lifted an aged, bluish-tinted hand and beckoned Dresden. "Come closer, my daughter's chosen. Winter's Emissary you are."

Dresden jerked and stumbled over to her, like she was a puppet master pulling his strings. He knelt in front of Mother Winter's rocking chair. She lifted a pair of rusted sheers and cut away at the trailing threads of a square cloth she'd been knitting. He took it from her weathered hands.

"You didn't tie it off," said Dresden.

"It wouldn't be, if its purpose is to be utilized," Winter said. "It is an Unraveling."

"A what?"

"An unmaking, boy. As Mab is the Queen of Air and Darkness, I'm the Queen of Time and Destruction. In my hands is the power to bring wreckage. Within these threads is weaved the same power to undo any enchantment done. Touch the cloth to that which must be undone. Unravel the threads. It will be so."

Harry's mouth fell open. She was talking about a magical phenomenon that bordered on the edges of godhood. Some enchantments were forever, bound in the very fabric of reality once spelled. Such an artifact could destroy the magic that breathed life into Hogwarts, or undo the wards of the Ministry, it could even make the Hallows into ordinary pieces of gaudy junk.

Dresden realized the potential too. He started to ask something but seemed to think about it before he asked. He shook his head as if he caught himself at something. His hands were shaking slightly, and Harry was dying to know what enchantment he wanted to wipe away so badly. Dresden swallowed and rose, slipping the folded cloth in his pocket.

"What am I supposed to do with it?" asked Dresden. "Is this a gift?"

"No," Winter's raspy reply came. "It will become clear soon enough, Emissary."

"Please make haste before I lose anymore hair over this matter," said Summer.

"You go with our blessings and all we can do for you," Winter whispered.

"Alright, let's go kick this war in the balls," Dresden muttered. He gave each of them a short bow and turned for the door. Dresden stepped over the threshold and paused when Harry was stopped by Mother Summer grabbing his arm.

Mother Summer's grass green eyes remind him of Aurora's for a split second, and he felt something curl low in his stomach. "You're part of my House now, grandson. Our sigil is the sun with a six-pointed star in its center. Our House words are _Burn Them All To Ash_. Do not fail your family."

Harry nodded and then his eyes widened as Mother Summer's hand snaked down to his ass. He jumped when she pinched the cheek and that was _enough_. He mumbled something that could've been _sorry_ or _whatthehell_, it was hard to tell, because he thought his face was going to melt off from blushing.

The door shut on its own and Harry didn't bother to turn back to gape at the wood. Dresden stared at him as they walked back the way they started. "Incest? I guess that's how the old families did it. Kinky though."

"First of all we're not even blood related, so it's not _really _like incest, incest," Harry rambled out quickly, and then sucked in his breath, "_Bloody hell! _I mean, _shit_. Okay, so again, you're a dick. And how weird was that?"

Dresden raised an eyebrow. "You talking about the weirdo riddle hour we just played, or the fact your grandmother in-law just played ass grab with you."

"I hate you," Harry swore. "And definitely the first one." Before he could stop himself, he blurted out, "They never really outright _said_ Aurora did it."

"I know," said Dresden slowly. "But it fits. I don't know her motive, but she's the _only _one who could redirect the Knight's power."

It freaking hurt but Dresden was right. He didn't even like Aurora, but he had _hoped_—Harry gritted his teeth. He ran a hand down his face realizing that Dresden hadn't noticed that he had fallen behind, his much longer legs giving him a naturally long stride that wasn't easy to match. Harry saw a shadow dart in the mist. He pulled out his wand and called out just as a figure blurred from the shadows.

Unfortunately it wasn't the only target. Lord Talos shimmered into existence coming at Dresden from under a veil. His sledgehammer slammed into Dresden's face as the wizard made an aborted move to block. He crumpled to the ground before the veil was even fully dropped.

A shift of air and a static of magic made Harry dive away as a club swung into the empty air where his head momentarily was. Korrick's running swing gave him too much momentum to stop in time, as Harry's wand slashed the air, and shockwaves of magic burrowed into the soil rupturing up stone spires from the earth in his direct path. The centaur couldn't halt his forward acceleration as the ground erupted under his hooves and stone spikes impaled nearly every vital organ of his body.

"You…" Korrick coughed up blood and still more oozed from the penetration wounds. The blacksmith and man-at-arms stared at Harry with confusion and blood dribbling down his chin. "You're…just…mortal…trash…"

"Go to Hell." Harry turned his wand clockwise and the spire impaling the centaur's right lung twisted sharply, and the last thing Korrick saw was furious green eyes and he was dead.

The Lord Marshall's hair was in a fighting braid, and he wore glittering, black metal armor made of mail that fit him close, probably for maximum flexibility for his ninja-esque moves. Flashy bastard. Killing him would be a treat. Harry made to apparate when his arm was grabbed in a vice-like grip. He got the sensation of coldness all across his skin as the newcomer that could be no other than the Winter Knight came out under a veil, Elaine close beside him. He caught her sad eyes before her power slipped into his mind like motes of faerie dust each one whispering _sleep_. Too easy for someone who'd already seen his soul and to the core of him, and her power slipped past his Occlumency shields like cake. Then there was blackness.

* * *

Harry came to just as Dresden was matching wits with their four captors. Talos was still his dumb self standing there with an underserved sense of self-importance. He had Harry's wand in his hand and was idly twirling the stick around. Then there was a stranger that could be none other than Lloyd Slate. Dresden wasn't the only one that could play connect-the-dots. Everything was making too much sense now and he was _pissed_. The Winter Knight wore some strange mix of biker leathers, but there was added bits of mail and a few metal plates added to make it cool or something. Or maybe he was so badass he thought he didn't need a full set of mail. Whatever. He had a sword at his hip and another at his back, and there was a gun at his other hip. His expression of nervous anger made his gaunt face borderline skeletal.

Aurora was the first to notice him before he could analyze the treacherous woman at her side. His wife was clothed in a battle gown made of silver mail that clung to her from the top of her throat down to her wrists and ankles. A garland of living leaves rested upon her pale hair and they were as green as her eyes when she regarded Harry with an unreadable expression. She rested her hand on the hilt of the sword resting on her hip.

"Husband," Aurora said, "I'm glad you're here with us."

Harry stood up and tried to take a step forward only to find some kind of invisible wall blocking his way. He growled in his throat at the circle of toadstools around him. He narrowed his eyes. "A faerie ring. Scared I'm going to get out and curse you from here to the Outside?"

"Yes," said Aurora simply. "What is to come cannot be stopped. Not by you or the winter wizard. Done is done. You'll see this course is right in time. That's why I won't kill you."

It's not like he believed that. She wasn't going to kill him because her power was tied to him and his to her. Kill him and she lost access to his wizardry. Simple. He didn't buy the platitude.

"Oh, goody," Dresden deadpanned, clapping his hands. A glance showed he was trapped in a similar faerie ring.

Aurora turned to him and her voice was too soft, too gentle. "He won't die. But you will."

"Unfair," muttered Dresden. "I hadn't gotten around to revising my Will. I hope someone can find a good home for my cat, then. He's a feisty thing, you see."

"Can I please just kill this bastard," Slate said.

"_Psycho_," Dresden said under his breath.

Harry sent Dresden a grin that didn't reach his eyes. They were in deep shit, but pretending they weren't seemed like a better alternative. "You're killing it with the one-liners, mate. Catch me up, what'd I miss?"

Dresden shrugged. "Aurora had her own Knight killed. She masterminded Reuel's death, the Faerie War, even this meeting. In fact, she had the Winter Knight kill Reuel—he's like her bitch or something. Elaine took him inside Reuel's building through the Nevernever. Aurora redirected the power of the Summer Knight into Lily, the changeling girl."

"Meryl's friend?" asked Harry, with sudden insight.

"Bingo. She transformed her into a statue." Dresden pointed at Aurora. "You've got her stashed in that secret garden on the roof of the Rothchild. I've seen it. It was right in front of me."

Aurora nodded, stilling Slate's hand that was reaching for his sword. "And what else did you figure out?"

"That Maeve must have ordered Slate to take Elaine out, so they faked her injury. It might have been real but she played it up and you helped. You wanted to keep us worried and off balance."

"So that was you behind those wyldfae attacking us at the lake?" Harry demanded, glaring at her. He wanted his wand so bad. He couldn't even feel Summer fire. The faerie ring made it a distant echo, numbed almost. "Sending the ghoul, too, was a bit of overkill."

Aurora waved a dismissive hand. "I hired no killers. This ghoul was not dispatched by me." She looked at Dresden and even through the faerie ring, Harry could tell she was pushing glamour on him as something pooled into Dresden's eyes or something went out. "Tell me my next objective, Emissary."

"You knew that if you bound up the Summer Knight's mantle, Mother Winter would provide an Unraveling to free it and restore the balance. You waited for her to give it to me. Now you'll take it and the statue of Lily to the Stone Table. You'll use the Unraveling to undo the enchantment and free her from being stone. There you'll kill her on the Stone Table after midnight. The power of the Summer Knight will be Winter's forever. You want the balance of power destroyed. I just don't know why."

"It's like he's Sherlock Holmes," said Slate. He looked pleadingly at Aurora. "Can I please kill him now? His voice is so annoying."

Dresden lifted his chin, freed from Aurora's glamour. "Right back at you, big guy." He held up his hand. "It would be better you don't even talk. You're the dumbest lackey to ever lackey. What do you even get out of this? You know working with her will make you public enemy number one in Winter."

Slate's left eye twitched. He decided to ignore the first part of that and drew himself up. "Maeve thinks she can get away with treating me like shit. That bitch has another thing coming. I'll have Reuel's power and be twice the Knight I am now. Then we'll see who has the biggest balls in Winter. Me or Maeve."

Harry didn't bother telling him that whole thing was absurd. For him to even think that power would go to him was presumptuous. Second if it did work that way, Maeve he could go toe-to-toe with, Mab was on a whole different scale of badass. She was going to make him bitch of Arctis Tor when the score was settled.

"Peace be with you, my Knight," said Aurora, laying a hand on his shoulder. His eyes went a little cloudy at the touch, and Harry shook his head. _Glamour._"This will all be over soon. I'll make sure of it. This endless battle. Winter and Summer. Summer and Winter. The mindless games and the poor mortals dragged into the plans of things they can't grasp. There must be peace. I will end this senseless cycle tonight."

Dresden shook his head, his pupils blown wide. "The fighting of the courts will send the world into chaos! And if Mab wins then the world will see winters that last a lifetime, if the cold doesn't kill us off first. Then the coming ice age will."

"But there will be peace. So be it."

Harry faced Aurora and stared at her, head on. "Bullshit."

For a fleeting moment, Harry thought he saw a gleam of something like triumph in Aurora's eyes. But the next second, Harry was sure he imagined it, for Aurora's face was just as stonily determined as it had been since he came to.

"Explain yourself," she said in a low voice.

Harry frown returned twice as heavy. "Never once have I ever known you to care about humans so much. You _hate_ Winter. So giving them your Knight's power is so unlike you, I can't even figure it out. What angle are you working?"

"You would know me as well you think if you hadn't run away from me two years ago," Aurora's impassioned voice was cold and sent a shock down Harry's spine.

He almost missed Dresden pleading to Elaine to help them. She was wearing a green cloak and her hair was in a tight braid. In that moment Harry wished that looks could kill. He laughed hollowly at Dresden's attempts to sway Elaine to help them.

"Don't bother, Dresden," Harry said. "Elaine's always been Summer's lapdog. It's always been about saving her own ass. Doesn't matter that people are going to die."

"It's better them than me," said Elaine, grey eyes infinitely sad. "Why shouldn't I pick me?"

"Better us than you, too, huh?" asked Dresden.

Elaine's eyes were filled with unshed tears. "Looks that way."

"It gives me no joy in this, wizard." Aurora nodded at Lloyd Slate. "Kill him, my Knight."

Dresden muttered something a dark smile slid across his face as Slate drew back his blade. Elaine caught Slate's wrist. "Wait."

Aurora looked sharply at Elaine. "What are you doing?"

"Protecting you," said Elaine, staring at Dresden with flat eyes. There were no tears there. There was only an awful blankness that made him shiver. "When you kill a wizard you leave yourself open to his death curse. He'll take you with him if you kill him. If not, you'll wish he had."

Aurora regarded Dresden carefully. "Is he really so strong?"

"Those on the White Council fear him. The Red Court wants him dead for a reason," replied Elaine in a clipped tone. "I wouldn't take a chance. He's one of the most powerful wizards I've ever met."

"What the hell's wrong with you?" Dresden looked wild, his eyes flashing. He looked like he was going to tear Elaine apart. Harry would pay to see that show. "You backstabbing _witch_. Damn you!"

Elaine and Aurora actually took a minute to talk back and forth about the best way to kill Dresden. Harry felt like he was in the middle of a James Bond movie. He eyed Talos, still lazily twirling his wand like it was a damn baton. Elaine finally settled on, "Drown him, Aurora. Call water and I'll hold him place with a binding of my own. On Harry, too. Mortal magic will last, even after I've left. Your power will leave with you."

Aurora nodded. "Are you certain your magic can hold them both?"

"I know their defenses," Elaine responded, dispassionately. "I'll hold them as long as necessary."

When Aurora looked at Harry he stared into her eyes and tried to find something he could reason with. There was a terrible emptiness in her eyes that he'd never seen before, even at her most inhuman moments. The lights were on, but no one was home.

Elaine murmured something and Dresden suddenly looked like he was trapped under a full body bind. At the same time a tingle raced over Harry's legs. It locked him in standing position, but it wasn't a total bind like Dresden's. He struggled against the invisible restraints like he was trapped in a straight-jacket. Aurora raised her arms and the ground beneath Dresden gurgled and gave a great ripple. It bubbled and suddenly Dresden was slowly sinking beneath the ground. _Merlin's might. _

"Let's depart," Aurora said, and opened her eyes once her spellwork was done. "The hour's almost upon us. Time for pleasantries is through."

"This isn't over," Harry called out as they started to walk into the mist. Aurora stopped and the entourage did as well. "You better leave me here Aurora, because I swear it I'm coming for all of you."

A smile tugged at the corner of her lips, and Aurora turned and swept away into the mist. Slate followed at her heels. Talos turned, mouthed _for Korrick_ and there was a horrible cracking sound. Nausea slammed into his gut. Harry watched as his wand fell to the ground in pieces. Talos sneered at him and followed his lady into the mist.

"Good-bye. It's just like old times," said Elaine in a bland tone, before she too followed Aurora into the mist. She had barely spared Harry a glance, and while teary it wasn't a _way out_.

Dresden was cursing Elaine to Hell and back and only his upper torso was above the ground, and he was slowly but surely still sinking. Harry struggled against his bindings. It was like there was hardened air covering everything below his knees. The mud was now up to Dresden's chest, and Harry struggled so hard he fell over calling out to the other wizard. Dresden let out an odd noise suddenly, it sounded almost pleased.

"Don't worry!" Dresden called out to him now that the mud was at his throat.

"I'm not the one sinking!" Harry shouted back, struggling against the binding. Something was digging into his side. He pulled at it and as he did so, he realized it had been stuck in his back pocket. Cool fingers touched the wood and warmth flooded his veins like nothing else before.

In the back of his head he could hear the roaring of fire, rain water against the forest leaves, and the blooming of flowers in the spring. It was Summer, plain and simple. He stared at the stick, runes etched down one side and there was the sigil of Mother Summer's House carved around the handle, a sun with a six pointed star in its center. Harry stared at the wand, _shocked_.

_"Please make haste before I lose anymore hair over this matter."_ The words echoed in his head. A wand crafted by the Mother of all Summer using her own hair as a core. It was—Harry gripped the wand tight, feeling warm and alive and strong—_brilliant_.

Elaine's binding collapsed with a flick of the wand and fire exploded into being around him at the same time. Almost instantly the entire ring went up in a blaze of waist high flames. As Harry walked through the fire, he was already levitating Dresden up from his sinkhole. The older wizard sputtered up mud when Harry sat him down on solid ground. And he was _moving_.

"Hey, how'd you break Elaine's binding?"

Dresden wiped his face, grinning tiredly and panting. "A bit of her is still the girl I loved. She gave me a clue on how to break the spell. We came up with that binding as kids. _Just like old times_. You get it?"

"Fine," said Harry, because honestly he wasn't ready to write Elaine off just yet. Someone he knew was playing double agent? Story of his life. "Doesn't excuse Aurora."

Dresden nodded, expression going grim. "You bet it doesn't."

She'd played him for the last time. Aurora was going down.

"I told her never to double cross me." Harry stared into the mist and promised, "I'm going to gank the bitch."

* * *

Thanks for the constant reviews about the story. I couldn't manage spare time to write for awhile there, but I finally got a system worked out where I can get some writing done. Things are drifting from canon storyline in SK with Michael and Harry added, and Korrick dead, and will veer even more so in hopefully surprising ways as things continue.


	19. The Sound of Drums

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter either. It belongs to its creator J.K. Rowling and probably Warner Bros. too. I'm not too sure about that. This piece of literature is simply the work of a humble fan. I also credit Jim Butcher for various themes, subjects, or references that I may use.

Author Notes: This is a Harry Potter crossover with the Dresden Files the book series. All my knowledge of the Dresden Files comes from the books. I've never seen the TV series. For the timeline that will be stated later. Thanks to the folks at DLP for help with editing.

* * *

**Awaken Sleeper.  
**Chapter Eighteen: The Sound of Drums  
by: Water Mage

Harry studied the wand in his hands. He could feel it hum underneath his fingertips, tingly and warm like the first light of dawn. It almost made his palms ache. The last time he felt something like this was when he held the Elder Wand. The Deathstick had been an extremely powerful wand with the core of Thestral tail hair, and it's footprint through history was long and bloody. Harry watched Dresden grumble and wipe mud off his face, coughing and hacking something awful while he dug through his gym bag.

Making sure the wizard wasn't looking, Harry kneeled down. His new wand grew warmer his hand in anticipation maybe, maybe… He had a theory—it wouldn't hurt to try. "_Reparo!"_

The broken pieces of his wand snapped back together like magnets. There wasn't a crack to be seen. It was a seamless piece of wood, whole and once again unbroken. Harry picked up the repaired wand inspecting it from handle to tip.

"_Merlin's might_," Harry swore, marveling.

He transferred his stare to his new wand, eyes landing on the sigil carved around the handle. The truth of it impacted him then and there. A chill went down his spine. At the core of this wand was the hair from a being that could arguably be labeled a goddess. A fraction of her essence lived within the wood now. Wizards killed indiscriminately for the power of the Elder Wand—if anyone knew he had _this_ wand. Harry hurriedly stashed his old wand up his sleeve. He'd be damned if he told a soul about his new possession taking a cue from Dumbledore. Over his dead body, indeed.

A hand touched his shoulder, and Harry looked up at its owner finding a seven foot tall man, robed in black with a deep cowl, which covered his face entirely. An unwelcome sense of _something_ swept over Harry. A black void flowed readily across his vision, supplanting the foggy marsh with inky blackness. The only fixed reference within this place, neither here nor there was a gate; a pair of massive double doors reaching eight stories high. The monolith vibrated ever so subtly, it called out… Harry blinked and it was gone.

The marsh returned.

The robed man withdrew his gloved hand from Harry's shoulder. He stood up quickly putting a bit of distance between them. There was only one shadowed eye visible beneath that cowl, and within it Harry saw something like comprehension flicker.

"Who are you?" Harry demanded, eyeing the stranger.

Dresden was suddenly at his side. He put a hand on Harry's shoulder. "Gatekeeper, uh, crap day we're having, huh?"

"Things are indeed looking dire, Wizard Dresden," said the Gatekeeper, turning momentarily to look at the wooden staff gripped in his hand. "Chicago sits at the center of the coming storm."

"Have you been watching this whole time?" asked Dresden.

Gatekeeper shook his head. "I've had glimpses of you, but my vision is limited. I know you accomplished your mission for the Council in being the Winter Queen's emissary." He turned to Harry then. "However I didn't see you. I suppose that's expected."

"Awesome," said Harry dryly. "Who are you, anyway?"

"This is the Gatekeeper," said Dresden, hand tightening on Harry's shoulder in warning. "He's a Senior Council member to the White Council."

The thread of knowledge that had been nagging at him finally unraveled. Harry was careful to keep the surprise from showing on his face. The Gatekeeper was the name the faerie queens kept throwing out in relation to him, their presence being similar or something. He didn't have a clue what they were talking about. And after that strange vision Harry wasn't up for asking the wizard over for tea to chat. It was instinct. It's in his gut-this man was someone to be wary of.

"This is-"

The Gatekeeper interrupted Dresden's introduction. "Harry Potter, the Lord Consort, husband to the Summer Lady."

"She's on my shit list, by the way," grumbled Harry.

Idly, he noted the Gatekeeper had a gentle accent something part British and something else, like Middle Eastern maybe. He wasn't surprised the Gatekeeper knew him. His name was getting out too much these days. Even with avoiding them Harry still managed to end up on the White Council's radar. Somewhere in the Afterlife Sirius was probably laughing his ass off.

"No one expects you to stop this battle, Wizard Dresden," said the Gatekeeper. "The internal affairs of the Sidhe Courts are no matter to the Council. Mab will keep her bargain and allow the Council safe passage through Winter for the duration of our war with the Red Court. Your involvement is concluded if you so choose it."

Dresden paused for a minute, and Harry made a disbelieving noise and shoved him. "Cool it," said Dresden, rolling his eyes. "I barely even considered it. I'm in this thing. We both are. Too many people are depending on us."

"Bloody amazing how many times I have to say end of the world," Harry muttered, giving Dresden the side eye.

The Gatekeeper nodded. "The current path is splintered, but I find this way you've chosen is righteous. Neither I nor the Council can help you, even though events are spilling into the mortal world."

Dresden snorted. "Politics again." He hoisted his bag up and sent a grim smile at the Gatekeeper, and his muddied face gave it an almost feral edge. "No offense, but to hell with the Council. And to hell with the Sidhe Courts. Aurora took the Unraveling out of my hands, so the consequences of its use will be my responsibility. I'm not going to sit back and crack a brewskie, while some soulless bitch powers up the Unseelie fae with enough juice to send us into an endless winter. So excuse me, I'm going to go clean house."

"Now that's what I'm talking about," Harry said, breaking into a wide smile.

The Gatekeeper held out his hand, a small velvet bag in it. "Wizard, you do have a way with words. Take these. They will help you along."

Dresden took the bag and peered inside. "A stone tied on a piece of thread and a jar of gel?"

"We're in business now," Harry said, his tone dry.

The Gatekeeper shook his head. "You share the same name and attitude. How fortunate."

His matter-of-fact tone made it seem like it was anything but a fortune. Harry decided not to be offended. The Gatekeeper may not know it but Dresden was all Gryffindor. So Harry chose to take it as a compliment. He let the smirk show on his face and thought he saw amusement on the shadowed face within the hood's folds.

"The ointment is for the eyes," said the Gatekeeper. "You'll find it less taxing than using the Sight to see through veils and glamours of the Sidhe."

Dresden pulled out the rock, the chip of stone dangling by the thread in his fingers. Harry stared at the stone seeing colors flash across its surface, gold and bronze and topaz mainly, but here and there was the faintest flicker of azure light.

"What is that," said Harry quietly, staring at the dancing light. There was something familiar about it.

Dresden frowned at him. "What are you talking about? It's just a rock."

"He sees it for the artifact it really is," said the Gatekeeper, his tone almost thoughtful. "It's a piece of the Stone Table. It will show the way to Tir Na Nog. The armies are gathering across the sacred land now."

"Doesn't this count as helping?" asked Dresden, lifting his eyebrows.

"I am merely giving you tools that you may or may not find useful," said the Gatekeeper. His voice was perfectly neutral. "How you choose to employ them is up to you. While the Council cannot interfere, we will do what we can."

Good show then. Dresden grinned suddenly and shook the Gatekeeper's hand. Even though the odds were stacked against them having some help was more than appreciated. The Gatekeeper stretched out his staff and drew a circle in the air. If he blinked Harry would've missed the fabric of the Nevernever blink away. The Gatekeeper opened a gate as easily as breathing, as if he had drawn a circle of Chicago to step into—the familiar street of Dresden's basement apartment was on the other side.

The Gatekeeper bid them a safe journey and they made to leave when Harry stopped before the portal. Dresden let out a sigh of impatience but Harry wasn't listening, something was pulling at his gut.

"What exactly are these gates you're the keeper of?" he asked the wizard.

"That's Council business, buddy," said Dresden, at his side.

The Gatekeeper turned just so, and Harry caught a glimpse of a gaunt face and a strange pair of eyes, one dark and the other metal and silvery looking, inside the hood. "I am the guardian of the Outer Gates."

Harry felt his body freeze, _the Outer Gates._ Through those doors was the Outside and within that realm awful monstrosities had made their home after they were banished from this world. His universe was somewhere farther than even that otherworldly hell. Trying to get there once had gotten him torn apart, literally. Did the Gatekeeper know—

"_Thou shall not seek knowledge beyond the Outer Gates _is the Seventh Law of Magic," the Gatekeeper said, quietly. "No one knows it as well as you and I, Mr. Potter. Hurry. You have work to do. Your questions will wait. Our hour is not yet at hand."

With a parting phrase like that Harry wasn't sure if he should sleep with one eye open. He resisted a shudder. Barely. They stepped through the Way and into the gravel parking lot of Dresden's apartment building. The rain was coming down hard and the summer humidity was thick even in the darkening sky. Thunder made his teeth rattle and there was something in the air, some hanging inevitability that made the hair on his neck stand up.

"What's that noise?"

Dresden squinted at him through the sleet of rain. "Thunder, rain, wind? Take your pick?"

There was something… Harry rubbed his temples. "Nevermind."

"So what does one wear to war?"

Harry's smile was wolfish. "I'm thinking basic black."

"Great minds," said Dresden, tapping the side of his head with a finger. "Alright, let's make some calls. The Scooby gang needs to get back together. We haul out in one hour."

Harry nodded. "Meet you here in an hour then."

He turned on the spot and fleetingly caught Dresden's bemused stare as he disapparated. There was a long second of darkness and then he was standing in the living room of his loft. Had it only been a week since he'd been here? It felt like a year since he got the call from Elaine. Dresden was probably still ogling over Harry's vanishing act, but this late in the game secrets didn't really matter when they might not make it out of this alive. And if they were gearing up, Dresden was going to see a few more aces by the end of the night.

The first thing he did was take a quick shower. After today he felt like he deserved it. He dressed in all black—what looked like professional motorcycle gear but was modified body armor. The armor resembled heavy plastic, but was upgraded with stronger plating and the insides of the jacket was lined Kevlar.

He pulled away the fake wall from the back of the closet, and inside the hollowed out space was a stack of rather old and valuable books that had seen languages die and empires topple. He'd gone through a lot of trouble to acquire the rare texts dealing with magic the White Council deemed forbidden. Weapons lined the walls, a mix of modern and medieval. There was a sawed off shot gun a few hand guns, and then there was athemas and a rapier, and even an enchanted axe that he knicked from Aurora's private vault a few years back.

Two black leather belts crossed on his hips. A handgun went on the left and a knife on the right. He fastened the axe around his back. It felt uncomfortable at first, but he couldn't resist the opportunity of cutting down a bunch of fae with faerie steel. It would be poetic justice. His eyes landed on the scroll lying in the corner of the nook. If he didn't die today the Jade Court was going to come calling soon. One attempt wasn't enough. They were going to come in full force. The Jade King wasn't one to cross, and Harry had done so and slapped him across the face while he was at it.

"Okay, then," he muttered, replacing the false wall. "One thing at a time."

Harry apparated back to Chicago and into the heart of the storm. The ground shook from the force of the thunder, and he jogged across the gravel parking lot to the boardinghouse building. He banged at the door cursing at the rain and the pounding between his ears that grew louder with each clap of thunder.

"Oh look, it's Houdini," said Dresden, letting Harry in and closing the door behind him.

Harry crossed the candlelit room and leaned against the arm of a battered sofa. "I have no idea what you're chatting on about."

"You may use a focus, but you're no wizard," said Dresden. He locked up the door behind him. "Are you some type of sorcerer, retired godling, a hell scion?"

A smile twitched at his lips. Harry shook his head. "I thought we had that Hardy Boys thing going for us. Let it go, mate."

"I like to know who's watching my back."

Harry spread his hands. "Look at this face. Doesn't it just scream trust?" He sighed at the man's blank stare. "Look Dresden, I like you, but I'm not into sharing and even if you don't know what I am you know our goals are lined up. Aurora's going down by your hand or mine. I don't fancy an ice age anymore than you."

Dresden picked up his rune covered staff. "Touché. Paying rent for an igloo is going to suck."

"Can we get to the real issue in the room?" Harry crossed his arms, and then asked, "What the hell are you wearing?"

Dresden tugged his black ball cap down over his shaggy hair. The Coca-Cola emblem on the front played at odds with his black military boots and jeans, but especially so with the heavy leather duster. He looked like a mix of fictional 'cool' vampire and retired mercenary on a budget.

"Jealous," said Dresden, doing this ridiculous wiggling thing with his eyebrows.

Harry blinked. "If the meaning for jealous changed to foolish then I agree."

Dresden snorted. "Saddle up, boy wonder. The wolf pack is due in a few minutes. Then we ride out."

A gym bag and an old school Doctor's valise sat by the door, and Harry stood by while Dresden packed up his gear in the open bags. He threw in his staff, his blasting rod—which was the wizard's magical focus that was as subtle as a magnum handgun. Even then he tucked away a heavy caliber, long barreled .357 magnum. A handful of potion vials joined the weapons. They hurried outside at the sound of a honk. A minivan was parked on the street and through the tinted windows Harry could make out maybe a dozen people crammed in. Parked next to the van was a running pickup. Michael was in the driver's seat of the truck.

"I'll ride shotgun with the knight," said Harry.

"I have to school the wolves on what to expect," said Dresden, hefting up his gym bag. "Try to be less mouthy around Michael. He's good people."

"That's easy Dresden, I'm only like that around you," replied Harry, saluting sharply and then turned to sprint through the rain to the idling truck.

Harry slid into the passenger seat. Michael leaned over from the driver's side and pointed at the seatbelt. "Buckle up first, please."

"Seriously?"

Michael nodded. "Safety's important even in these perilous times."

"I agree completely," said Harry with a straight face, eyeing the man's bloodred surcoat and cloak covering the full suit of mail. "Nice duds. Give me your guy's number later. I could do with some gear like that."

"Thanks, it's one of my wife's best works." Michael pulled away from the curb following behind the minivan. "I'll tell her you agree."

"Lucky." Harry stared at the blade in his lap. "The only crafting my wife knows is how to plot Armageddon."

Michael's mouth tilted in a somber frown. "The faerie are creatures that don't know the Lord's grace. Let His faith in you touch her, too."

"And if that doesn't work, and I can't talk her out of it?"

Grey eyes focused steadily on the road. "You'll have to make the hard choice."

"There's no choice to it," said Harry, his voice quiet but hard. "I'll take her out one way or another."

"Then I'll pray whatever she has that passes for a soul goes on to a better place."

It was three heartbeats before Harry's muttered, "Amen" followed.

They drove steadily east making turns and barely breaking for signs. Their time limit was midnight. Summer loses it's lease after that and all that stolen power gets poured into Winter, and Mab with a power boost was terrifying—probably more so than the endless winter. The cold was merciless and unforgiving, and Mab would make him pay for escaping her rage during their last tango in Arctis Tor.

A sign proclaimed they were nearing Burnham Harbor. The dark waterfront was illuminated with sporadic light from lightning flashes. A few minutes later, the dark receded as they pulled up to the wharves. Halogen floodlights every couple of feet bathed the docks in a silent glow. The entire area was surrounded by a high chain link fence.

They parked the vehicles on the street. Michael and Harry waited in the drizzling rain as the Alphas piled out of the van. Surprisingly Meryl and Fix came out last, behind the wolves. Harry eyed the changelings. They looked so damn young. Meryl had to be part troll her hulking stature told it all, but with hair that white and his delicate bone structure Fix was probably half Sidhe. He looked around with dark, nervous eyes and carried a heavy looking tool box in his right hand.

Meryl's makeshift armor of a vest covered with steel spoons jingled a little as she turned to Dresden. "So where's this battle at? We have to save Lily before it's too late."

"Close," said Dresden, eying the piece of stone from the Gatekeeper. Thunder rumbled ominously.

Michael pulled _Amoracchius _from a gym bag then tossed it back into the truck. He fastened the sword to the belt around his hip. "How close?"

Dresden pointed up at the flashing clouds. "Up there's ground zero. Here we go, guys. Let's do this. Line up and stick out your mugs. I got some ointment to put under you eyes. It will let you see through faerie glamour and prevent their mojo from influencing you. Hold your nose if you want. It kind of smells."

"I'm down for that," said the mouthy redhead wolf from that morning. His faux hawk was wetted and slicked back now. Harry had taken to calling him Weasley in his mind. It made him smile.

Billy pushed Weasley out the way. "No way, Big Red. Me first. The Winter Lady is wacko."

"Here, here," said Meryl.

Fix glanced around like Maeve herself was going to pop out the shadows just by mentioning her. He clutched the toolbox tighter, and Harry wondered what he had in there. A screwdriver didn't acquire that kind of security. Michael glanced at Harry after Dresden finished applying the ointment under his eye, little half moons of dark, greasy brown.

"You need some?" asked the Knight of the Cross.

Harry shook his head. "No, thanks. I can throw off glamour pretty well."

With the juice he planned on using Harry would tear apart any veils or glamour. At this point he was itching for a chance to finally cut loose, for real. They stood at the end of the pier watching as Dresden stretched out his hand over the cold waters of Lake Michigan, with a dozen wolves, two changelings, a heavenly appointed knight and an extra-universal wizard standing behind him.

"Something's here," muttered Dresden.

Harry nodded, feeling the undercurrent of energy. "Yeah, I feel it too."

Michael caught Harry rubbing his temple, a distracted look on his face. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, fine," replied Harry, shaking his head. He stared off into the rain. "Do you hear that? Its four beats. You seriously don't hear it?"

The Knight shook his head, a concerned look apparent in his eyes. "I don't. Maybe you—"

Light exploded across the docks as bright as fireworks in the sky. It shot into the sky like a shooting star but as solid as ice. The emanation shape resolved itself to be a starry staircase that began at the end of the pier and climbed into the storm above. Dresden put one foot on the lowest step and it bore his weight, leaving him standing on a block of translucent moonlight over the turbulent lake water.

"Way cool," said Fix, awed.

Meryl stared at the congealed starlight, warily. "Up we go?"

Harry chuckled. "Would you prefer we took a broomstick?"

"There's a joke in there somewhere," said Dresden, and took the next step. "Let's go, folks. We don't have anymore time."

The enchanted staircase climbed about a mile into the sky. It was a rudimentary way to transcend the boarder between this dimension and the in-between one that was Tir Na Nog. Harry didn't get a chance to make it that far. He followed behind the group and when his foot touched the stair his senses exploded. One, two, three, four. Every beat of his heart and each one louder, stronger than before. He clutched at his skull as the noise in his head paralyzed him. He barely heard the others calling for him.

Hands reached out to him but fire suddenly burst to life across his body. Rainwater, leaves of the wildest forests, and the scent of the Spring wind filled his nose. He didn't scream as the noise in his head amplified and the flame swirled around his body to greater degree and he vanished.

The fire receded leaving him in a far different place then when he had last been here. Harry stood on a hilltop, breath panting, staring across the battlefield stretching below the hills down into the valley of the Stone Table. Mist still obscured much of the terrain, and sounds of battle rang through the air followed by the snap of lightning and the rumble of thunder. Devastation was everywhere as faeries of every breed and lore matched might over the sound of blaring trumpets and beating drums. The noises, the shrieks, roars, bellows, was nothing human sounding. And over the valley winged monstrosities battled it out in the sky and the air shook in their fury.

Harry couldn't see the Stone Table through the haze of battle, but there was a faint pull to the east that made him narrow his eyes. Not even ten yards away was a squad of toad-man creatures, watching him with dark gazes and spears ready. More creatures stood nearby, a pair of centaurs, and a legion of Sidhe knights, dressed in full faerie armor and mounted on warhorses of red and yellow and grass green. The Sidhe knights had gold cloaks that marked them as the Queen's own guard.

Harry homed in on the biggest source of power that was practically making his teeth vibrate, leading out past the armored knights; beyond them to the top of the hill, a regal Titania clothed in a topaz gown, with white hair free and falling to the cloudy ground, sat upon a golden horse. Harry marched confidently to the ring of guards and they drew their swords at once.

"I don't have time for this," said Harry. He drew his own wand. "Let me through, boys. Or I'll make my own way."

"We don't answer to you," said the Sidhe knight, whose helmet resembled a swan.

The air grew suddenly warm and a bead of sweat rolled down Harry's brow. "Let him pass," came Titania's voice from the air itself.

Immediately they sheathed their swords, and Harry didn't bother them with another glance as the ring of guards parted to allow him admittance. He strode up the slope of the hill to its top and the air grew hotter, thicker like he was suddenly in the middle of Sahara. If he wasn't who he was he would find it sweltering, but it was manageable because power recognized power and the Summer fire in him practically basked in it.

The Faerie Queen was a thing of wonder upon her golden steed. She stared out in a kind of meditative trance, green eyes bright and absolutely glowing with power. There was something terrifying about her, and the shimmer of power radiating about Titania made him reluctantly look away as his eyes burned with something awful when he focused on her. Titania blinked and turned her stare to him.

"You've come to take your place," said Titania in a lulling voice, still appearing heavily focused on some unseen task.

Harry raised his eyebrows. "Didn't have much of a choice. You snatched me from the moon staircase like I was an eight year old lost in a mall."

"You traveled by light and neverwere, and they are _my _domain," she said with the slightest edge in her otherwise quiet tone. "You are _my _daughter's husband, my kin. You've heard the Call. Go take your place. The thief eluded you and now the world will burn."

"That's not true." Harry's grip on his wand tightened, and he said as even as possible, "I found the thief, Queen Titania. It's Aurora."

Titania's eyes zeroed in on him and he felt his heart falter. Her body went unnaturally still and for one long second Harry was sure she was going to supernova him. There was something _moving _in her eyes that made him nervous. Then finally she breathed again turning her stare to the battlefield below.

"Are you certain of this?" she murmured, regarding the scenery with empty eyes.

Harry nodded once. "I can prove it. She'll be at the Stone Table soon. She's going to try—"

"I understand the matter," said Titania with something like worry on her face. Harry could tell she did, with that reveal she understood the entire chain of events. She took a breath and said, almost to herself, "The notes are disarrayed; the song is changing pitch."

Titania's eyes narrowed and she lifted her hand and an entire quadrant of battlefield flooded with a sudden golden radiance. The aura around her was like looking at the sun and Harry choked on the heat. Cerulean fire swept across the valley and met the gold, and there was an explosion of emerald energy as the two clashed, canceling one another out. Titania lowered her hand and turned to look at him again.

"Direct attack from Mab?" asked Harry, after regaining his composure.

"Forever in conflict, Winter and Summer…" Titania tilted her head, but continued staring at Harry. "But balanced we always must be—the horde of travesties unleashed." She turned her gaze to the eerily lighted mist in gold and blue, green mist churning with death where they met. "At the height of power I may be for now, but that will change, and doom will fell us if my Knight's power becomes Winter's."

Harry lips thinned. "I can't let that happen."

"You plan to stop her," Titania considered him thoughtfully. "Thy wife is my own child. Why should I let you contest her instead of obliterating you where you stand?"

"Because if she succeeds Mab will come for you Midwinter at the peak of her strength, and with your court crippled she'll annihilate you. She'll make Lux Sanctum into another North Pole. Bet on it."

They shared a measuring stare. Titania's expression was blank when she finally said, "I hereby name you Aequitas Lumina, Guardian of the Realm. Do not let this abomination take place."

Harry felt his wand vibrate in anticipation. "I'm all over it."

"Our forces will not harm thee. You are the Queen's Hand," said Titania. "Take the river North and it will take thee to the hill of the Stone Table. Something's amiss. The mirror lies. Move swiftly now."

Titania turned back to the battle slipping once more into her trance-like state eyes lighting with amber fire. Harry made his way downhill into the chaos. The sound of battle was deafening now. He passed the wounded recovering here in Titania's camp. A company of fierce looking satyrs with gore covered blades were being tended to by nixies, coating their wounds with violet paste. Unidentifiable dead bodies of fae creatures of all sizes and shapes were being piled high by monstrous titans with inhuman efficiency. A trio of goat-man creatures galloped past on warhorses and straight into the thinning yellow mist that was giving away to cold blue the further downhill he went into the valley.

The air grew thick with the smell of death the more distance he put from Titania's encampment. He passed a troll bashing the head of a gnome with the heavy end of a bone club. Brain matter exploded in one fell stroke. Humanoid creatures with gangly limbs jumped a Sidhe on a horse, pulling him down to the ground and descending on the armored faerie with jaws full of salivating fangs. The nightmarish carnage was everywhere. The mist bled to green and the sounds of battle were louder here, steel on steel and the shouts and cries filled his lungs.

Towering, scarlet and blue skinned ogres in faerie mail appeared from the mist. Over a dozen soldiers came at him screaming an unintelligible war cry. They had been waiting for him. An ambush was it. Wrong day. His wand was arching through the air before they made it within striking distance.

"Don't hold back," Harry growled, thrusting his wand into the sky.

Violet lightning fell from the heavens and detonated in the middle of their sloppy attack formation. Their advance was halted as waves of over pressurized magical electricity washed over them. Those at ground zero were obliterated into less than dust and limbs went flying in all directions as the attack dome grew. A bolt of red streaked into the dome and the two attacks doubled and expanded. The resulting crater was six meters deep and nothing was left living within its center.

"_Wicked_," Harry breathed, staring at the wand. "Got a bit of a punch, don't you."

A beast jumped out through the mist, claws aimed for his face. Harry turned and black fire poured into the thing's snarling face and melted it clean to the bone. Another flick launched a javelin of ice straight through its heart and out its back, spearing it like a boar. _Five points for Gryffindor._

"Alright, the river's that way," he said aloud, making out the sight of splashing water less than a quarter mile away. He gripped the wand tighter. "Let's continue this test run, then."

Harry grabbed the axe off his back. Wand in the right and axe in the left hand, he ran into the fray.

Two acid green bolts ripped into the rear of the horde forming ranks down the river. The attack went left and right carving into the faerie masses. The surprise attack caught the back lines unawares, but there were still the front line troops to deal with. They regrouped at a startling speed, reinforced their ranks and arrows promptly filled the sky aimed at his position.

_"Depulso!" _Harry snapped, sending a crescent pulse sweeping into the swarm.

The banishing charm reversed the flight paths. Another curse lit the arrows on fire and it rained purple death into their forces, increasing the faerie casualties at an exponential rate. There was a shimmer in the sky and it took a second for Harry to realize that the molecules in the air were freezing. An ice dome formed over the decimated ranks stopping the barrage. A wave of desolate cold swept over the field, and Harry looked up to see a white dragon streak through the starry sky. Its rider wore mail of purest white, stylized with snowflakes, and her hair was a riot of blue and green dreadlocks bound close to her head. Green eyes met green, only her were cat-slitted and inhuman, and she _blew a kiss _at him.

It was a no brainer who the Sidhe was; the rider was Maeve, the Winter Lady and youngest queen of the Winter Court. She lifted her hand and he staggered as the ground split wide open, he braced his feet as the shattering earth formed a long crag that belched a geyser of freezing cold water. A score of armored Sidhe charged from the spray of frigid waters wearing warped looking armor of blue, purple, and green.

"You've got to be kidding me," said Harry, scowling at the hundred to one odds. "Nice to meet you, too, bitch."

Maeve and her ice dragon were already swooping away, snow falling in their wake. Harry chucked the axe at the soldier leading the charge and its bladed edge suddenly burned bright with plasma that cleaved right through its plate. It left a gaping hole in the faerie's chest and continued its momentum into the trooper behind him, melting its way through his sternum.

Harry jabbed his wand at the ground and a long, solid wall of earth rose up nine meters high. Like he was front row at a show, the soldiers jumped over the wall resembling a league of ninjas. He'd been expecting that. Ruby lances whipped through the air and Harry dragged the beam wide, ripping through body parts like a butcher as he picked them off easily. The lead ranks went down and those that got through slowed their advance but they were still coming, leaving their maimed and dead without a backward glance.

He scrambled away as a soldier darted in blade swiping at the air where he once stood. Harry didn't risk apparating in the valley. Time and space were too mutable here, increasing his chances of splinching to a deadly degree. There was a bang and the soldier's head simply exploded. Harry fired his gun again and the steel-jacketed round tore through another soldier's neck, blood arching into the air and the skin burned and blistered from the steel content.

A purple armored soldier closed in at point blank range and Harry's dodge saved him from getting skewered by a lance. Pain flared through Harry's side as the soldier's clawed hand raked down the side of his exposed torso, cutting through his body armor like tissue paper. The space between them flared with light and ribbons of dark purple passed through the soldier, he looked down at the streams of light and then at Harry. Blood trickled down his mouth and he fell over, dead.

There was still so many of them. Harry hosed down waves of troops, but they kept coming and with them came other fae. Goblins and trolls and ogres all with field plate emblazoned in the colors of Winter. He wasn't a soldier. He couldn't last long in a hand to hand, but dealing magic into their forces was buying him time that he didn't have. The battlefield was hideous. The carnage was heightened by the monstrous creatures fighting through the valley, dealing death with weapons that were wielded with murderous precision.

Harry called forth the Charmed Fire and it burst into life led by a trio of fiery phoenixes. The wildfire halted their advance, but with every tide he dispensed in flashes of green death and bolts of hot blue more came to replace their brethren. Idly he noticed the mist around him was churning from gold to blue as Winter overtook Summer's position. This was getting ridiculous. He didn't have time for this shit.

Something like a sunbeam streamed through the field followed by the thunderous sounds of hooves as a battalion of mounted Sidhe came riding from within the light. The riders were more Sidhe warriors, but their armor were stylized with flowers and sunbursts. The vanguard mowed down the Winter troops, spearing them through with lances that turned into pure plasma in flight, and they surged across the field in force.

"_Finally!_" Harry shouted, sending a white hot beam carving into the torsos of a trio of hobgoblins encroaching on his flank.

Their intestines poured out in a steaming pile, and Harry turned as a flash of gold lit up on his right. A Summer warrior cleaved away the skull of a beast trying to get the jump on him. His glowing sword reversed its vector and slid into the chest of another beast like butter. His savior was none other than Titania's Little Knife. Puck faced him and there was a long cut across his right cheek. Teenage boy he may look, but this Sidhe armored in shining crystalline plate was in charge of leading Summer's entire army.

"Appreciate the assist, General," said Harry, finally getting a second to really breathe.

Puck's eyes were a violent storm of cerulean. "As my Queen commanded, I obeyed. Lord you are and king you are to be, but you're Aequitas Lumina now. That makes you a peer."

_Goody_, being on friendly terms with the General, Titania's little assassin, was sure going to comfort him at night if he lived past this. Puck was a force of devastation all on his own. Where Harry dealt magic into the horde, Puck met force with force. He danced between blades making it look effortless, as he took advantage of their misses to maim them to pieces mercilessly. Puck and his men surrounded the enemy on all sides and the tables were turned, and the fight transformed into a true slaughter.

"Summer holds this part of the valley now," said Puck, a gleam of savage triumph momentarily shined in his eye. "Your way is clear."

Harry saluted him with his wand, blood dripping from his fingers. "Right on, mate."

For a second he had almost replied with _owe you one, mate _but common sense kicked in, telling that to one of the fae was like signing yourself up for the draft. Puck could have him turning tricks for one small favor. He jogged off through the melee toward the river and his original destination, the Stone Table. Aurora wasn't there yet or all Hell would've broken loose by now. It wouldn't even be a battle anymore but an Armageddon. He heard a howl in the distance.

"Alphas," he muttered, trying and failing to peer through the haze of battle.

If the teen wolves were nearby then so was Dresden and the rest of his merry men. Arrows whizzed overhead and a griffin dropped from the sky, crashing to the earth and skidding to the ground in a long trench. Its right wing was ripped to shreds and a flaming giant's sword was jammed into its jaw. A company of sylphs descended on the wounded creature in the blink of an eye.

Two huge scarlet tigers, the size of ponies, appeared from the mist and ran beside him, flanking his left and right. Without thinking about it Harry instinctively knew they were Summer and here to help. _There it is._ The stream came up ahead guarded by a group of lumbering trolls, armed with tree trunks carved into clubs. Harry readied his wand when the tigers startled him by abruptly racing ahead. They leapt on the trolls hulking forms, riding down the creatures with jaws locked tight around their throats.

"That's helpful," Harry said under his breath, a little awed at how the diretigers tore into the massive trolls.

The pull he felt was the only thing he had to go on and it was leading him distinctively north. Harry ran to the edge of the river, and across the way Winter held that side of the valley and the land around the Table. He stared at the water rushing downstream. A Firebolt would be wonderful right about now.

Alright, so it was time to pull out a trick from his bag. Snape and Voldemort weren't the only wizards with a gift at understanding the rare magics. All it took was dedication and the ability to _want_ it that made magic as potent and mutable as it was. Plus, Harry had plenty of power to back it up. He jumped in place once and then twice. One second he was on the riverbank and the next he was in the air, and like Voldemort and Snape, he was _flying._ For one lasting moment with the wind rushing in his face and hair blowing, it took Harry back to his youth at Hogwarts and Quidditch. The waters below exploded and a pair of luminescent, shapely arms shot out. He caught golden eyes and wet red hair right before he was tackled midair.

They hit the water hard and Harry felt his lungs burn as they went under. He grappled with the arms holding him and the water was doing shit for his vision. All he saw was a blurred body intent on strangling him under the waves. His wand was still in his hand and it didn't matter where he pointed it.

"_Vis Maxima!"_

It was a garbled incantation but intent was key and he was intent on getting the hell out of this alive. There was a bright blue flash as energy was pumped into the water at the molecular level so quickly that when all that energy was released it caused a spectacular blast. Harry and his attacker went rocketing out of the river. He didn't get to enjoy the luxury of breathing again before gravity exerted its force and they slammed into the ground. There was a loud pop from his shoulder and Harry cried out and laid there, stunned. He weakly grabbed at the dislocated joint.

Harry rose to his feet a half second after his attacker. Leanansidhe licked her blood red lips and water dripped down her battle gown, which was little more than an armored corset with emerald encrusted gauntlets and matching tiara. Her hair fell down to her thighs in a cascade of wet curls.

"What the _Hell_," Harry snapped, glaring at her. "Are you insane? I don't have time for your crap right now. Don't you have a kennel full of hellhounds to run?"

Lea spread her hands, revealing their sharpened claws. "I told you we would meet again across the battlefield, Summer Lord. Now that you're Aequitas Lumina it's even more fitting, since I am Veritas Glacio."

So she was his Winter Court counterpart. Harry wanted to deliberately roll his eyes at the dramatics of it all. "First of all, is there a memo going around? How does everyone know about that?"

"Titania spoke it and all of Faerie heard it."

Harry grunted as he knocked his shoulder back into place. He faced her with a fierce scowl, "Whatever, lady. Get the hell out of my way."

Blood red lips curled into a smile. "I decline."

The ground shattered beneath his feet spewing a storm of ice spears. Harry was airborne before the ground even buckled simultaneously releasing a volley of crimson bolts at the Leanansidhe. Her fingers went into a swift movement of warding gestures and the attacks splashed harmlessly against a conjured pink shield. He started to raise his wand when a gigantic snake shattered through her shield and reared its head at Harry, bigger than even Slytherin's basilisk. Its serpentine body slithered across the ground at lightning speed.

As its jaws opened to swallow him wide, Harry almost carelessly faced it and _hissed,_ "_Kill that bitch."_

The snake's fangs dripped with venom when its jaws snapped closed and it slid around, setting its sights on its conjurer. Lea's eyes widened and she clicked her fingers sharply. At once, the snake burst into flames and its scales held off the fire until her eyes brightened and the flames flared bright blue. It was over quickly and the thrashing summon collapsed to the earth in a smoldering ruin, inert.

"Lamia child," Lea muttered, watching him like he was something to be taken apart.

"I don't know what that means," said Harry, watching her carefully. "But it sounds rude."

A tidal wave of black swept toward her and everything it touched froze and turned ashy gray, lifeless. The black plague as it was whispered about in back alleys in the Eastern world back home, overtook Lea's position and Harry focused the vaporous cloud in a thick solid column. It hit her dead on and her skin was leached of color, rapidly turning sickly gray, and cracks formed up and down her body. Harry slashed his wand and the unmoving Sidhe shattered to pieces and fell to the ground in a jumbled pile.

"Mmm," whispered a soft voice in his ear, and Lea ran her tongue over the tip. "Impressive."

_Illusion!_ Harry spun around to face the real Lea, but she was already darting away with a brilliant smile on her face. He growled in his throat and launched a barrage of burning silver pulses. Some went wide and some she narrowly dodged, and the landscape burned with luminous fire that raged violently through the blue misted terrain.

No less than thirty green balls flew at him through the smoke. Harry transfigured the snake carcass into a shield and ducked for cover as the balls detonated, turning the heap into an incandescent inferno. He waved his wand in an infinity arc chanting under his breath. Wind howled to life in a violent gale swirling into a furious tornado. An orange beam cut through the cyclone and crackling lightning danced to life within the spinning tempest. It tore up the earth as it advanced, snatching up dead bodies and debris. The savage winds almost sucked up Harry, too, but he was already braced behind magically created cover and the vortex hungrily devoured whatever was in its wake. Lea didn't stand a chance. The vacuum consumed her and the area was filled with her excruciating screams.

The devastating force didn't last long. It wasn't meant to. It died fifty five seconds later a bit up stream taking with it the bitter winds. Harry surveyed the destroyed landscape. A feeling shot through his spine before he could even glimpse half the field, and he dove out of the way as a garnet bolt raced past him. There was an explosion that he only heard because he was coming under attack.

"Merlin's might," he swore, scrambling away as a turquoise ball hit where he once lay.

The ground iced over and he jumped to his feet and hid behind a boulder to get his breath back. Lea looked like she'd gone one on one in a ring with a heavyweight, but she was _alive _and despite looking a little bloody, she was still deadly. The boulder all of a sudden freaking disintegrated, even as Harry was already sending spellfire downrange.

They went at each other using tactics and tricks that Harry hadn't called up in years. The air was alive with the thick smell of ozone as they burned the air itself with magic. It was chaotic as flashes lit across their battle field. Rocks were turned into bombs, water transfigured into gleaming blades, and the ground shook as creatures of nightmares were called into being to take out the other.

Harry threw a lance of fire at her and it only grazed her shoulder when she dodged. Grabbing at her injury that should've ripped through her, Lea hissed and returned his attack with a salvo of hyper dense bolts of water. He whipped his wand in a loop and banished the attacks into the river, discharging on impact to freeze half the stream solid. Harry bombarded her position with a shower of crystalline orbs that detonated in balls of sentient fire. Lea clapped her hands and an oversized white wolf phased from her body. It howled at the living fire that converged on it and they trembled and died into little more than smoking burns on the ground. The wolf continued howling, long and lasting, and it turned into a terrible sound that made Harry clap his hands over his ears. The sound was in his head. It pounded at his brain, damn near bringing him to his knees.

The sinuous power underneath that terrible howl settled in his bones and it was enough to drive him to insanity. He just wanted it to _stop_. Warmth spread across his hands, then. It raced through his body and the power threaded through that howl fled before the fire of Summer that was flooding Harry. His wand grew hot in his hand and he snapped his head up, eyes burning with fire. A golden light surrounded his body searing through the blue mist in a ten-foot circle around him.

"Behold the fires of Summer, Leanansidhe of the Winter Court," said Harry in an otherworldly tone, deep and not even his own. Even he was shocked, as he lifted his wand without meaning to. "I am Lord of Summer, Aequitas Lumina, the light of justice of all the Seelie fae. Fall beneath the might of the White Wand, the shining ray of dawn!"

A beam of white hot death shot from the wand. Lea threw herself out of the beam's path and she turned wide eyes on the silver firestorm and the ensuing cloud that mushroomed into the twilight. Indecision flashed in her golden eyes and she must have seen the shock in his eyes, that burned with white fire, and whatever was speaking through him scared her enough that her form flickered and she retreated without a parting word, vanishing.

Whatever was using him as a mouthpiece withdrew without an apparent threat. "No way," Harry said, staring at the wand from Mother Summer. Was this thing _alive?_

"Don't have time, don't have time," he muttered, taking off for the hill in the distance. He could vaguely make out the Stone Table on top.

There were more faerie bodies here littering the fields. It made sense since Titania was pushing Mab's advance around the Table. Harry kept moving. He didn't stop to deal with any of the fighting going on. He was intent on his destination. Finally the ground started to rise, and the hill of the Stone Table was clear. The hill was filled with activity when he got to its waist.

Talos and Dresden were dueling, magic flared between them along with the flash of silver of the Lord Marshall's blade. Elaine and Michael were nearby and faerie steel clashed against heavenly anointed steel. The Alphas kept the Sidhe cavalry busy, and their leader was none other than the Winter Knight. Lloyd Slate was fighting Meryl with a frozen blade, and even from this distance Harry could see she was wounded and there was no way she'd last too much longer against the sadist.

And there was the head bitch herself at the top of the hill. The stone figure of Lily set upon the Table, and Aurora was a slender, gleaming form, looking at Fix who was pleading with her to just stop. A tortured scream ripped through the air and activity momentarily halted as all eyes turned to Lloyd Slate. Harry lowered Meryl gently to the ground not giving Slate another glance as the Winter Knight reached for the knife jammed through his throat. Harry cast a healing spell over the wound in Meryl's side.

"She's only a girl," he said under his breath, turning to Slate with hate in his eyes.

Harry slashed at the air with his wand, there was a flash of white, and Slate's head tumbled from his shoulders. It rolled to the ground two feet away and his body fell a moment later. Harry looked past the shocked stares of his allies. He only had eyes for Aurora.

"Hello, honey," he said. "We need to _talk_."

* * *

**Author's Notes**  
So thing's have continued changing from the events in Summer Knight, people mainly and events that are to come. Also, a quick few things: The Potters and Aiden will remake an appearance later. They still have parts to play, as well as getting to the bottom of Aiden's abilities, Harry's, and whatever similarly he has to the Gatekeeper. He's not an Outsider, I'll say that right now.


	20. The Bloood Soaked Lord and his Lady

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter either. It belongs to its creator J.K. Rowling and probably Warner Bros. too. I'm not too sure about that. This piece of literature is simply the work of a humble fan. I also credit Jim Butcher for various themes, subjects, or references that I may use.

Author Notes: This is a Harry Potter crossover with the Dresden Files the book series. All my knowledge of the Dresden Files comes from the books. I've never seen the TV series. For the timeline that will be stated later. Thanks to the folks at DLP for help with editing.

* * *

**Awaken Sleeper.  
**Chapter Nineteen: The Blood Soaked Lord and his Lady  
by: Water Mage

The Summer Lord stood at the crest of the hill of the Stone Table with all eyes upon him. He was sweaty, bleeding from multiple lacerations and breathing heavily, but his green eyes were as piercing as ever. Right now they burned with anger and within them shone a promise waiting to be fulfilled.

"You," Aurora whispered into the sudden silence.

Harry looked up at her through his lashes, glaring. "Three years ago I told you it would come to this if you ever betrayed me."

She was a vision in her gleaming battle gown. The stars shimmered in the twilight above and the light of the Stone Table was aglow around Aurora. In that moment she looked like a shining angel from heaven sent down to enact God's vengeance upon the world. And Harry was the blood covered mortal standing in her way. He readied his wand. So be it.

"You can't stop this. Change is coming, my husband. There will finally be balance." Aurora's eyes were bright and there was an unyielding fervor lurking there. She really believed what she was saying. Nothing was more powerful than belief in a cause. Voldemort taught him that. "The cycle of mindless struggle ends _now_! The wheel of destiny will turn no more."

"People are going to die, Aurora!" Dresden snapped, pushing away from Talos.

"After death comes rebirth." She smacked Fix away with a backhanded slap and the force sent him tumbling down the hill to its bottom. Aurora clenched the Unraveling in her hand. "I won't be stopped by anyone be they wizard, beastchanger, heaven," Her eyes slid from person to person and then she said, looking at Harry, "Or family."

Harry made sure Meryl was stabilized. The wound was healed but she needed time to recover. He stood up. "You know I can't let you do this."

"Mutually assured destruction, I remember your words," said Aurora, there wasn't a trace of emotion in her voice now. It was flat and her face was perfectly composed. "Now you hear mine, I am a queen of the Summer Court. Do you really think you're a match?"

The White Wand was so very warm in his hand. "You didn't marry me just for my looks, sweetheart."

There was a loud bang and a viridian shield flared briefly two inches in front of Aurora, concentric circles of pale light expanded out from the bullet's impact. Harry held a gun in his left hand, barrel smoking, and he innocently smiled at the surprise on Aurora's face.

Harry shrugged. "Well I had to try."

That broke whatever spell that was freezing everyone's movements. Somewhere someone yelled a war cry and the fight was back on. The hill was charged with a renewed sense of vigor as the brief interlude seemed to rouse both sides back to their purpose. The wolves fanned out around the mounted Sidhe cavalry, flanking the soldiers around the front and rear and leaping through the air to drag them off their steeds with their jaws clamped tight around whatever body part in reach. The wolves nimbly avoided the spears jabbed at them by working as a pack. A wolf darted in to distract a soldier only to jump away, and then another would repeat the maneuver, distracting the Sidhe from seeing another attack from their blind side—and a honey colored wolf blurred into motion ripping into the jugular of a warrior in yellow armor.

A barrage purple pulses blasted out uphill each accompanied by a flash of silver fire. Elaine ran down the hillside to flat ground throwing out at an arm and another pulse speared the air only to be cleaved into nothing by _Amoracchius _glowing blade. Over the next ten seconds a dozen more blasts followed, each one Michael deflected or evaded by a dropped shoulder or a sidestep, moves that bordered on lucky but the sword's holy light whispered at a secret power, a higher being's Grace.

Elaine was decked out in green crysteel armor, but that wouldn't protect her against a heaven blessed blade, and she knew that. So she wisely kept her distance from the knight, holding him off with lightning and shadow and those pulses of pure force. Her braid whipped over her shoulder as she skidded to a halt mid run, thrusting her palms in the direction of the ground and shouting a spell in Egyptian.

Michael grunted as black holes sporadically appeared in his path in huge, gaping maws beneath his feet. He jumped over one and spun out of the path of another. The insides of the portals dripped entropic eddies and a pale glow that shone light on some abysmal land of the Nevernever. If he fell through one he'd survive but who knows _what _lived on the other side of those Ways.

Nearby, Dresden leveled his blasting rod in Talos's face, and the Lord Marshall didn't have time to react against the spell exploding in his face at point blank range. Angry red light lit up between them and Talos went soaring downhill landing at the bottom in a crumble, armor visibly smoking from the blast. There wasn't much time. Dresden ran downhill raising his hand as he went, two middle fingers curled into his palm and the others extended out, muttering the counterspell in a string of Latin. He swiped savagely at the air with his staff, and the pits closed on his command, that was narrowly close to dragging Michael down into some forgotten land of the Nevernever.

"Justin taught us that one, Elaine. Forgot I know the counterspell?" said Dresden, panting heavily. He pointed his staff and rod at her position.

Elaine's gray eyes were hooded. "I haven't forgotten anything."

Then the whole world twisted and turned, molecules vibrated, as a sense of wrongness swept through the valley. Harry lifted his head to the table and knew that doom was at hand. Aurora held the Unraveling to the statue of Lily upon the table, threads coming apart beneath slender fingers, and with it the stars screamed as the universe was defiled. In this world when life was transmogrified into non-life there's no coming back, the spell was constant and netted into the universe as an eternal variable, that life was no more. The end.

As Aurora undid the Unraveling, she defied the universe and returned another's fate back into alignment. Everyone felt a terrible ache arising in their heart, raking at their minds with an awful feeling of nausea as gravity warped around them. But in that moment of struggle a voice broke through the entropic wave of warring order and chaos.

"_Accio Unraveling!"_

The gears of reality went spinning back into place with precession and the world went abruptly right again. The Unraveling shot through the air, summoned by Harry's spell, and Aurora's eyes blazed with fury when Dresden of all people jumped up and neatly plucked it out the air. He gave her the finger and took the hell off.

"Curse you to the Underworld!" Aurora's voice was a scream of stabbing rage that flooded the ears with unbridled pain and sent the lesser creatures stumbling.

Harry closed in on Aurora, slashing his wand in the air as she simultaneously raised her arm. At first it looked like he missed, but she jerked her arm to her chest clutching at her bleeding palm. He extended his wand again and unleashed a bolt of crystal blue light. Aurora lifted that same hand with her palm now instantaneously healed, and the attack splashed across a viridian shield. She watched him with contempt as the blast was stopped cold. Her eyes narrowed and vines sprang from the ground like living creatures to wrap themselves around his legs.

"_Arctico Manos!"_

The hand of ice spell froze the vines and they exploded in a shower of ice flakes. Harry threw himself to the ground as two fireballs raced above his body, streaking into a squad of leathered armored trolls mustering down below the hill. Both balls impacted into the horde of bulky creatures, turning their formation into a burning pyre. A plume of black smoke curled up rising into the sky.

"You know those were your guys, right?" Harry said, standing up and spitting out a mouthful of blood.

Aurora's expression was uncaring. "There are always casualties in a revolution."

"I don't think you're using that word right."

Armageddon was the right word and _end of the world _fit just as nicely. He watched her carefully, wary of her ability to cast with barely a sign. The surprise attacks were getting old fast. Harry hoped Dresden was far away by now, handing the Unraveling to Mab or something. It'd be easier to torch the damn thing. Faerie craftsmanship was the finest thing he'd ever encountered. If Mother Winter made it then that thing was probably indestructible. Pity.

"It's a shame you can't see this is the best course for everyone," said Aurora. She shook her head. "You should be thanking me."

Harry let out a bark of laughter. "Thank you for betraying me, thank you for starting a war, thanks for trying to end the world, you crazy, soulless _bitch_."

Her lips pursed into a thin line of dissatisfaction. "That attitude is why you weren't involved in my plans."

"Look at me. Look at this sadness on my face."

Bless her soulless heart she actually peered at him a bit earnestly. Harry needed to work on his sarcasm. It was opportune because he took that moment to attack. Shadows streaked from his feet in countless tendrils of black nothingness. They flew at Aurora too fast for her to dodge. Only she didn't even move. Instead she reached back, slamming her hand against the Stone Table. The sigils and runes blazed with golden light as she tapped into the well of Summer power at its nexus. The light burned through the shadows and turned them into nothing.

And from that ancient conduit of power she called forth something from the deepest dark of Faerie. Light twisted and bent as Aurora chanted, staring at Harry with a grim frown, as if she was sad it had to come to this. From the nexus of the table, from light and fire, it came. Its presence was felt like a star burning in the sky. It came in a crushing force of otherness. Long arms appeared from the blistering golden light, hands the size of his entire torso reached out into the world. The fingernails were long and dirty and Harry took a step back, heart thudding in his throat at what came next. Ragged clothes clung to huge, square shoulders, and it was twelve feet tall standing when it arose from within the light. All the while Aurora chanted as the thing's oversized head pulsed with throbbing veins. Dread eyes turned to Harry and he gaped at the skinless creature. There should be blood from the raw and exposed flesh, but it was decayed and red and _pulsing_.

Madness swirled in Aurora's eyes as the giant creature appeared fully from its ancient stonecage. "Look upon the Executioner, the Hound of the Halcyon Queen of Before, Rawhead and Bloody Bones!"

"You've got to be kidding," Harry muttered.

Aurora laid a hand on the thing's thick, muscular arm unminding of the raw flesh. "I must go claim the Unraveling. I free thee of thy chains for this task. Stop _him_."

The mad queen took off without a backward glance leaving Harry and Bloody Bones. Great. He wasn't done with her yet. So she wanted to delay their fight, okay. It was coming, ancient immortal faerie or not. Bloody Bones moved and the motion just seemed wrong, so very wrong. This was something that just didn't belong.

Harry brought his wand to bear on the primordial faerie. "Alright, let's do this."

"_Mine," _said Blood Bones, shocking Harry that something so hideous could speak. Its voice was like nails against a chalkboard: a grating noise, screeching and terrible.

Bloody Bones slid his long fingers across his stomach, and they sank into the exposed flesh like butter. Harry blinked; well, if the thing was going to commit suicide he wasn't going to complain… Bloody Bones arm extended and he jerked a bone sword out in a wash of gore. _Vomit later, _Harry thought, preparing himself. The sword was pearl white, dripping with ichor and it was as long as Harry's entire body.

There was no more speechifying. The faerie rushed at Harry, closing the distance between them at supernatural speed while raising the sword to strike. Harry wallowed in a split second of shock at its speed before instinct kicked in and he threw himself to the side. He barely saw the long leg lash out and kick him in the spine mid-air. His back exploded with pain and he fell to the ground, rolling narrowly out of the fall to avoid the sword striking the ground where he once had been. He cast a numbing charm on his lower vertebrae and his pain went away in a wave of cool tingles.

Ruby beams speared the air as Harry unleashed a salvo of spells downrage. Some went wide, but twenty of the thirty bolts hit home and an impossibly bright flash consumed Harry's sight, bathing the area in a wave of blue fire.  
_  
Danger!_

Bloody Bones's sword stabbed through Harry's chest, and his body exploded in a shower of stones. The faerie roared at the traitorous illusion, looking around for his wayward target. Harry watched under a Dillusionment Charm, ignoring the rest of the fights going on around him. He only had eyes for the immortal faerie. The creature had taken the full brunt of that spell and there wasn't a damn scratch on him. If he was wearing crysteel armor Harry could understand, but direct contact from the Dance of the Broken God Curse should've incinerated him. The creature looked as ragged as ever, only a little _angrier_. Damn.

Harry regrouped under the cloak of concealment magic. That bone sword was fit for a giant and the weapon's molecular sharp edge was etched with runes. There was a subtle glow about it that made him wary. One strike would rip him in two, no blocking against that.

Suddenly Blood Bones lifted his head, nostrils flaring and he gave the air a long sniff. His head snapped to Harry's veiled form and he froze. Maybe he didn't see—Bloody Bones took a step in his direction. _Shit!_ Harry swept his wand in an arc and a crescendo of water erupted forth. The wave flooded the ground and the earth beneath its feet turned angry red as the soil's atoms were rearranged and turned into molten lava.

The lava licked at its feet and the faerie bellowed. The giant sword blurred and slammed into the bubbling lava; there was a subtle glow and a hissing noise as the enchantment broke. The lava instantly turned dark and cold, inert. Bloody Bones turned his gaze to Harry. It was not a friendly look.

Harry was waving his wand even as the faerie rushed forward. The sword slammed against Harry's hastily cast shield and there was a _crack,_and the barrier exploded in a shower of blue sparks. In that split second Harry took the opportunity to jab his wand at its torso. At blank range there was no escaping the blast of lethally compressed nitrogen. It was like stop action; one moment Bloody Bones was flesh and the next he was frozen in ice. Harry lifted his wand skyward.

_"Obsidione Draconum!"_

A black lightning bolt pierced the sky and before it could strike the ground, it coalesced into a rearing Chinese Fireball. The elemental dragon gave a mighty roar, and electricity danced within its flapping wings. It swooped through the air and from its gullet blasted a torrent of lightning entwined fire. The deadly inferno slammed into the ice statue, and the fire curled into itself in a blazing column. Harry nudged the summon with a flick of his wand, and the dragon circled a wide ring in the sky and came back around. It plummeted through the air at high speed, monstrous jaws opened wide and fire swirled within their depths. The dragon leveled off for the terminal phase of its attack run, and there was a great crack like the sound of two boulders colliding.

Without warning the inferno flexed and imploded. Harry braced himself as a wave of compressed air raced across the hillside. Everyone around the immediate area of the hill went staggering or was outright flattened by the powerful gale. Harry threw up his arms as the savage winds threatened to carry him away. He gritted his teeth only to witness Bloody Bones step out from the flames, unharmed. His long, hideous arm lifted and the immortal caught the dragon by the thick of its neck as it descended upon him.

"Bloody hell," said Harry, staring.

Bloody Bones held the thrashing dragon like it was a misbehaving child. It roared furiously and arcs of electricity crackled over both their forms, lethal volts of blue light. A sound came from Bloody Bones, then. It was a long terrible warble that evoked haunting images reminiscent of a Dementor's despair. Harry realized it was _laughing_. The faerie manipulated the dragon's neck sending its dual elemental fire roaring at Harry.

He waved his wand in a figure eight and the fire transfigured into a trio of thrashing tongues. They shot backward and wrapped around the faerie at lightning speeds, trapping him. The tongues throbbed as one and sword tipped spikes erupted from every square inch of organic matter. They met flesh and went through it like paper, skewering the entity through his legs, abdomen, chest, shoulders. His holler was a mix of pain and rage.

"The bigger they are," Harry muttered, twisting his wand clockwise.

The dragon summon's luminescent skin flared brightly and it wavered momentarily in compression before detonating fiercely in a wash of green light. Bloody Bones disappeared within the cloud of debris. It wasn't over. Harry counted off in his head. It was about nine seconds when the monstrous faerie made his reappearance stepping out of the blast zone. There were gaping holes all over his body. The meat inside shown through, but there was no blood. The veins pulsing on his head were throbbing faster and he looked pissed.

One second he was there and the next Bloody Bones was suddenly at the spot Harry once stood, slashing at the air with his giant sword. Behind him Harry stepped out of the thing's shadow, unbending light to hide his presence. It spun around just as Harry lifted his wand.

_"Avada Kedavra!"_

Green light slammed into its hideous face point blank. The monster took a staggering step back, pausing. It moved… Harry's eyes widened. _You've got to be shitting me_. It shook off the Killing Curse like a stunner only to receive a spear of ice through its chest courtesy of Harry before he took off down the hillside.

He hated the ones that could shrug off a Killing Curse, himself not included. The last being to do so had been a dammed Outsider, a being so unimaginably horrible that there was a law of magic dealing with those that sought out their knowledge. Titania herself had taken out the one that almost killed him. This faerie couldn't be on an Outsider level of power, there was no way. But it was something almost as fearsome. Nothing was truly immortal. If it lived it could be killed. End of story.

"Lovely time to be out of bullets," he panted, running full speed across the flat land below the hill.

It wasn't possible to conjure true cold iron to harm fae, especially so with the faerie hair core of both his wands. Otherwise he would've rained iron waste right down this fucker's throat. Harry ticked off his other options. There weren't many. Something about the being made it magic resistant to a degree that was worrying. It wasn't armor, it was his very flesh. An idea brewed to life, and Harry would have smiled if he wasn't running full out away from the faerie juggernaut.

His sprint took him around the hill to witness a quartet of Sidhe knights in yellow and turquoise armor fall to the glimmering silver arc of Michael's sword. _Amoracchius _was a shining beacon, and its light blazed like silver fire deterring evil from getting too close. Sure enough, Bloody Bones saw the light of the sword, and it threw up its arms like it was blinded. Michael's eyes narrowed, raising the sword up with two hands and setting its point at the beast chasing down Harry. Bloody Bones saw the knight's challenge and it brought its own sword to bear, dead eyes aglow with malicious intent.

"Blinkspawn," Michael growled, sliding into an offensive stance. "Go handle your true mission. I've got the hybrid, Potter."

Bloody Bones raced forward, and it was just a blur. The sword swung out to cleave Michael in two and suddenly _Amoracchius _was there sparks screaming from each blade as it came up to block the bone sword. The sword blurred again and Michael's blade deflected it once more as he parried the next attempts in succession, showering their duel in dreamlike, flashing rain. Whatever speed advantage Bloody Bones had was negated by the sheer timing of Michael's own sword strikes that bordered on miraculous.

Harry gave a silent word of gratitude to whatever person upstairs that sent Michael. He had a hunch the knight came for a reason other than a warning. Magic resistant the faerie may be but that sword's holy fire was touched by divinity, and there was no counter against that.

Harry was running back toward the hill and to the Stone Table as the two whirling blades countered each other at near inhuman speeds. He past the Alphas on the way, and the wolves were still holding their own. They unhorsed all the cavalry and the pack were dodging lances and swords to attack like a well oiled machine. It was almost surreal at how efficiently they worked together to take out their foes, and Harry didn't have a chance to marvel before he was running past the battle and further uphill. The Stone Table was up ahead at the top and there at the hill's waist was Dresden lying on the ground, struggling against some invisible bindings. Aurora was there looking at the wizard with contempt, clutching the Unraveling in her hand and making her way back up the table.

"No, you don't," Harry growled, as Aurora turned back and gestured with a hand.

Harry sprinted past Dresden as the ground between the wizards and Aurora rumbled. From it, whipping upward with trashing, violent contortions came a wide thicket of thorns, ferocious and longer than his forearm. It rose into place under Harry, and his feet lifted off the ground mid run as he flew the remaining distance even as vines grew up below his heels. His shaky flight carried him uphill and he touched down in a crouch as the barrier settled into place behind him. The thorns were so dense that it completely blocked the battle still going on below the hill's waist.

Aurora's expression was not happy. "Not many can escape a skirmish with Bloody Bones and live."

"I get that a lot." Harry leveled the White Wand at her. "He's no dark lord and neither are you."

He was through with the banter. The wand cut through the air and a crescent pulse spiraled outward, trailing super-heated air. Aurora narrowed her eyes and that viridian shield flared to life before her, blocking the spell cold and its remaining potential raced up and down the shield in arcs of white light. A fireball followed a half second later plowing into her shield, blowing two meters of earth apart in a spectacular display of pyrotechnics. In effect all it did was move Aurora's hair around like it was a stiff gust of wind. Harry gritted his teeth. That shield was irritating, and that was an understatement. It was pissing him off, frankly.

"You're trying my patience, dear husband."

Aurora lifted her hand and Harry jabbed his wand into the ground as the air before her palm flashed to life. The earth rose up in a solid wall and formed a meter thick barrier that withstood the fireball that slammed into it like a flaming hammer. Harry threw himself down to the ground as the explosion threw up a cloud of earth and stuck to the remaining bit of barrier like napalm. Harry picked himself up and ran from behind the wall slinging bolts of blue light as he went, hoping one of the stray spells would hit and punch a hole through her. This bitch needed to go down _now._

Aurora stood there countering and deflecting his spells with one hand without breaking a sweat. Her beam of golden light went wider than he thought and stabbed into his shoulder. Hot pain made him bite his tongue and Harry grabbed at the wound, ducking behind a boulder. He risked a quick glance to examine it. He got lucky the attack had been so hot that it cauterized the wound as it tore a chunk of flesh from his shoulder.

_Medium depth, manageable. He couldn't get full movement out of it, but it wasn't his wand arm. He wouldn't be bowling anytime soon, though._

Slapping a numbing charm on it, Harry popped his head over the boulder and launched a bright indigo curse. That damn shield went up again, but that was the point. The curse smacked into the shield, but the shockwave pulverized Aurora into the ground as a curl of purple smoke rose into the twilight. Harry traced a rune in the air and it hung there in blazing red light. Then he stabbed his wand in the center where the thunderbolt shaped symbols converged.

_"Postrema Somnium Fati!"_

Intensely bright light blossomed above Aurora and from it a kind of dark gravity filled the air. A two dimensional portal of black light appeared, accompanied by a sense of awful, gathering power. Wind suddenly blew furiously across the hilltop as the distortion grew more intense, more deadly, and Aurora's eyes widened as it threatened to suck her up into its maw. The portal to the Netherworld was opened and its inhabitants on the other side were angered. They sought freedom but couldn't exist in this planular domain, so they took from here what didn't exist there: life.

"_Accio Unraveling!"_

Harry summoned the cloth and Aurora held it so tightly that her body jerked with force. With a whispered word she broke the spell and Harry didn't have time to ponder how the hell she did that, when all of sudden her eyes glowed with raw, tangible power that swept out in a wave of scalding wind.

Aurora cupped her hands above her chest where her heart went and said, "BEGONE! YOU HAVE NO PLACE HERE."

From her cupped palms a tremendous blast of brilliant, gold energy shot directly upwards. The power of Summer met the door to the Realm of the Dead and Eternally Dreaming and it could not stand. It simply burned away as the fires of Summer mercilessly tore apart its anchor to this domain. The wind died and Aurora rose to her feet, her eyes licked white flame around her face. Seeing her this angry made a little part of him happy. It meant she was done fighting with that careless air about her. Harry knew she finally was taking him seriously. _That's right, sweetheart, pay attention to the mere mortal._

Sheets of fire didn't come from her. It came from everywhere. The air itself turned against him and Harry reflexively cast a shield as the world around him was torn apart violently and everything turned white, plunging his consciousness into a sea of pain. Through his haze he dizzily witnessed the Stone Table shimmer and cold blue light replaced the warm gold, as the depicted symbols and runes now filled him with a chill. The stars were aligned and the hour was at hand. The table now belonged to Winter. Meaning…

Aurora was already at the Stone Table holding the Unraveling to the statue of Lily set upon the surface. Harry fought past the pain to bring the world back into focus.

He lifted his wand…

The Unraveling's threads fell apart against the head of the kneeling girl…

"_Ultu—"_

Harry's spell was lost in the undiluted wave of cold white light that screamed across the hilltop, a sense of shifting and warping that ached at his eyes and made him think hopeless thoughts of a spring never to come. The crushing power of destruction that was Mother Winter's dominion met the spell that trapped Lily, and it broke beneath that cold breath of Winter's kiss. Marble reverted into sun kissed flesh and her long emerald hair went blowing back as Lily's eyes snapped open and she took a deep gasp of breath, looking around dazedly.

Aurora slapped the girl hard, and Harry crept up behind the faerie queen as the changeling fell to the surface of the table. Lily screamed in pure terror as Aurora pulled a knife from her belt. _Now! _Harry's wand cut the air deploying a burning red energy whip, lashing at Aurora's unprotected back and drawing a scream from her. It didn't cut through her armor, but it had to hurt like hell. She turned around with fury writ in her eyes, only to catch the ball of tightly compacted lightning straight to the chest. The white blue energy ripped into her, blowing her off balance in a brilliant detonation that sent her careening wildly through the air where she skidded to a halt almost four meters downhill.

Harry reached for the changeling and she jerked back, scared out of her mind. "Hey, don't be scared. I'm here to help. You've had a lot of people worried about you."

Her pupils were blown wide and she nodded, feebly. Lily reached to take his hand when she screamed and abruptly rolled off the table to the ground. Harry threw himself to the right and a ruby beam ripped through the air where his head once was. The smoke cleared and Aurora stood with her hands spread, ruinous red light dancing between her fingers. Harry's previous curse insured she was covered in cuts and scrapes leaving her a bleeding mess. _Hey, at least they matched now._

"I've indulged you enough," Aurora grated, the dancing light above her palms solidified into red pulsing orbs.

Sending that giant faerie boogeyman to rip into him was _indulging him_—typical fae logic. Aurora whipped her hand forward and Harry's world rocked with a disastrous red explosion that impacted against his erected shield. He crossed his arms in an X as the force sent him skidding backward. A flash appeared in his peripheral and Harry brought up his forearm reflexively, shield flaring brightly as a second red sphere streaked in from a different angle. He gritted his teeth riding out the compressed shockwave of the blast.

Harry used the lack of visibility from the blast to conjure a barrage of crystal spikes before another one of those lethal balls of death bombarded him. The dozen foot long spears were batted aside by a well-timed spiral wave front of high pressure. Aurora's face was contorted into a fearsome scowl as Harry retaliated with a cold front, mixing the hot and cold waves together to form a catalyst.

The words of the incantation were lost in the howl of the wave vortex, but its effects were true as Harry's spell took root. The swirling maelstrom went silvery white and it imploded all at once, and everything in its path was flash frozen. It was almost beautiful to see. Aurora didn't even have time to struggle before the ice flowers sprouted over her body and the entire hillside surrounding her in a twelve meter ring. The flowers continued multiplying exponentially becoming so dense that it trapped Aurora in a pillar of ice as tall and immense as Gryffindor's tower at Hogwarts.

"Lily!" Harry called, wincing at the strain in his voice.

His muscles ached something awful and he would sell a kidney for a pepperup potion right now. The changeling girl peeked her head up from where she'd been hiding under the Stone Table. Harry mustered up a half smile, tasting the blood dripping onto his lip. He probably looked as bad as he felt.

Harry made his way over to the table and to the crouching girl. "Let's get you out of here."

Pulling her to his feet he found Lily was a head shorter than him, and there was something extraordinarily exotic about her face. She was gorgeous. A terrible cracking noise was heard over the din and it sounded like the earth itself splintering open. Harry spun around to see hairline cracks race across Aurora's ice pillar. _Bloody hell_. _Why wouldn't this bitch stay down?_

"Get down!" Harry said, staring at the cracking prison. If the table wasn't here he would've scorched this entire hilltop. But he couldn't risk destroying the Stone Table, if it could even _be_ destroyed.

Lily went back to hiding as Aurora's trapped form began to glow within the icy tower. Her golden aura pulsed once, twice, and then the ice _shrieked _and Harry braced himself as the entire structure shattered in a surreal, snowy shower of ice flakes, bathing the entire hilltop in a preview of the neverending winter that could be.

Aurora was breathing heavily, aura resonating a dark angry light, and she snarled, "Give. Me. The. Girl."

Harry didn't recognize this angry demoness before him. This couldn't be his wife with blood soaked armor and hell in her eyes. The truth of the matter was this was exactly what he always feared would come to pass. In fact, it was worse.

"If you want her you'll have to get through me first, dearest."

"And me."

Dresden ran onto the hilltop from a gap in the wall that sprang close the second he was through. He didn't look as bad as Harry, but he'd seen the wizard look better. Dresden's coat must have quite the protective charms on it. He wiped at his bloodied nose and leaned a bit on his staff. He sent Harry a companionable nod.

Harry spared his friend a smirk. "Took your time. Had to stop to tie your shoe, did you?"

"You look like shit," Dresden deadpanned.

Nothing like a row with Dresden to keep him down to earth, and with that, he knew they were both still in this fight to the bitter end. Those deadly red balls coalesced in the Summer Lady's grasp again. Dresden was already lifting his blasting rod before she could fire off.

"_Fuego!" _Dresden shouted, unleashing a bright lance of crimson energy, white at the core, directly at the powering up faerie queen.

"No, wait!" Harry said, too late.

Aurora lifted her arm and the ray of concentrated fire was sucked into the sphere growing above her palm. It grew ten times the size and she grinned, almost ferally. It was a decidedly worrying expression to see.

Aurora's dark grin turned into a sneer. "You would use fire to harm me? Me, who was baptized in the scorching flames of the volcano Mt. Anlun, beyond the corona lands of Spring's End."

"_Shut up!_" Harry snapped, tracking her with his wand. "Enough with the damn speeches. I'm not here for that."

A massive bright blue arrow of energy ripped away from Harry's wand in an echoing _boom_, and the recoil jerked at his injured shoulder, fiercely. It tore through the twenty meter space in under a second, and Aurora with her Sidhe reactions was already sending her spell to meet the bolt of concentrated white magic. Wizardry met faecraft and the two forces warred upon meeting before igniting violently.

_"Protego Maxima!" _

Harry's shield flared into existence in a wall of glimmering silver that stretched to protect the two wizards and thankfully everything directly behind them, including Lily's hiding place. Everything turned white. The initial shockwave impacted against the protective ward, immediately followed by golden flames that lashed at his shields and he held on tight to his wand repeating the incantation, praying to whoever was listening that the freaking barrier held.

Aurora came out of the lingering cloud of dust. Her hands were moving into a series of casting gestures and the ground below their feet trembled. Dresden and Harry dove out the way as the earth gave way to a chasm that erupted a geyser of angry red lava. Harry pointed his wand at the volcanomancy curse incanting the counterspell, as Dresden darted forward with his staff yelling a war cry like he was Billy Badass. Merlin's might, that man was such a Gryffindor.

Then a horse neighed above them and a stallion vaulted over the wall of thorns, only the leap didn't take it far enough. No matter because it's rider jumped off the steed as it fell short into the poisonous thorns, doing a controlled flip in the air and landing in a crouch. The rider lifted his head and snow white hair fell from his face to reveal the Lord Marshall's smarmy face.

"Kill the wizard, Lord Marshall!" Aurora commanded at once.

Talos pulled out his rapier from its scabbard. "Done, my lady."

"You again," Dresden groaned, gripping his valise that he hadn't let go of since he came onto the hilltop. He leveled his blasting rod and shouted, _"Forzare!"_

A curtain of scarlet energy wreathed into place in front of Dresden. The blast of pure concussive force slammed into the ground as Talos dodged the spell and came in on the wizard's left with his sword ready. Dresden feigned and suckered the Sidhe, stepping in with his foot and putting his full weight into the punch that connected solidly with Talos's face. Dresden was a big guy and the force of the punch sent the Sidhe staggering back with blood gushing from his nose.

"Huuzah!" said Dresden, pumping his fist into the air. He then slouched into a crouch and flicked his fingers in a classic come get some motion.

Harry's cheek twitched, half expecting the older wizard to pull a V for victory sign next. Talos was Sidhe fast, and he wiped his nose with a passive face before he was blurring forward again. Dresden didn't see the sword dart in till it was knocking away his wizard tools, staff careening left and the blasting rod went next when he brought it to bear. Talos stalked him, eyes cold. Harry finally broke Aurora's volcanomancy spell and the geyser went lifeless.

Before he could help Dresden a cold, cold wind blew across the hilltop followed by a warrior's cry that even gave Aurora pause. The wall of thorns shook and then frost spread along the thick hedge impossibly fast. The cry came again and then the frozen section of the wall shattered as a bulky figure charged through, into the open. Harry almost swallowed his tongue as he recognized Meryl, apparently recovered and vengeance shone in her eyes.

"I have no quarrel with you, child," said Talos, as Meryl set her sights on him.

Meryl looked unimpressed by his sword. "I have one with you though."

She charged him and Talos didn't bother moving, looking unperturbed. Meryl pulled back her fist and frost began to streak away from her extremity. Talos's eyes widened, shocked. He wasn't the only one. It was too late because Meryl's frost bitten arm came down, _hard_. The blow sent him rocketing backward, like he was hit by a freight train. Meryl took a breath and ran a hand through her hair, revealing a deep icy blue streak running through her muddy green tresses. Dresden put it together before Harry.

"You took Slate's place," said Dresden, staring as Meryl manifested a sword of ice. "You're the new Winter Knight."

"Maeve came to me on the field," said Meryl, dark eyes darting everywhere, looking for Lily. "I have to save her. I couldn't say no."

There was a scream and they saw Lily being dragged up on the table by her hair. Aurora held her down with one hand and the dagger was in the other. Lily was struggling too much that Harry had to get closer or he'd hit her, too. He stayed out of Aurora's peripheral, darting up behind her back.

"Finally!" Aurora said, raising the dagger high. Her eyes were bright with madness.

Dresden dropped the valise on the ground and undid the clasp. "I don't think so. Meet some friends of mine."

A shrill, piping blast erupted from inside the valise and a little faerie flew out of the bag. He was decked out in some make-shift armor, and his dandelion white hair suited his little cherubic face. He saluted Dresden and in his arms like some bastard sword he held an orange plastic box knife, its slender blade extended from the handle. Harry frowned at the steel waiting to see what Dresden had planned, so he held his position.

"Wyldfae know your place," said Aurora, laughing. She arched a brow at Dresden. "What do you plan to do with your little soldier?"

The little faerie blew on his trumpet and shouted, his shrill voice piercing, "In the name of the wizard, our Pizza Lord Dresden. Charge!"

Harry didn't have time to fathom what the hell that even meant before the valise was awash in a cloud of glittering multicolored motes of light as a swarm of pixies, all armed with cold steel blades sheathed in orange plastic, rose up and streaked toward Aurora in a cloud of flashing light and glinting knives. That much human steel in a faerie war was the equivalent of bringing nukes to a knife fight. Aurora's face reflected Harry's own surprise at Dresden's secret ace.

A pulse of power filled the air and the pixies screamed as they were incinerated by streams of yellow death. No, it couldn't be… _Lily _cut off the attack and the golden light dimmed as she dropped her hand. She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear with the other hand, looking sorrowful. Harry ignored Dresden's angered holler or Meryl's confused shout, he was darting toward Aurora's unprotected back before he lost his chance. His wand stabbed into her back and light flared between tip and armor.

"What," Aurora murmured, surprised. She stared down at the glowing blade of violet light, as long as her upper body, spearing through her stomach.

Something was _wrong_.

White hot pain made Harry drop his wand, and the blade of burning energy dissipated in motes of light. He staggered back slapping a hand on the gaping wound that appeared in his stomach. No, that wasn't possible. She couldn't have... His wound was a mirror image of the one he just delivered to Aurora.

"I don't understand," he said through gritted teeth.

Aurora's hand covered the bleeding wound in her own stomach, only she had faerie healing speeding her recovery up. "We're connected or have you forgotten."

_No._ Harry's vision turned spotty as the pain dragged him down under. "I—"

"Don't worry this wound is mortal to humans, but it won't kill me. So it won't kill _you_. You'll live yet, my husband."

Nothing was making sense anymore. Everything turned kind of foggy and he was only dimly aware of the goings on around him. Elaine appeared next to Lily when he came to focus seconds or minutes later, who knows. He heard her tell Aurora, "it's done" before the heavy fog settled back over him. He wanted to just float away. He was so damn tired of it all. Dresden was at his side when he came to consciousness again. He could hear him arguing with Aurora. It was all garble to him. It wasn't just the wound that put him in this state.

"Get away from him," Dresden said, standing over Harry.

He was exhausted, no sleep, too much magic, plus he'd been put through the wringer. Harry stared around without comprehension.

Aurora smiled, and it wasn't the mad smile from earlier. It was her normal smile—was that a good thing? "I already forfeited, wizard. Now pass. He's my husband and I desire to speak with him."

Green eyes blinked and the world snapped back into focus.

The hilltop had turned into the clusterfuck since Harry had blacked out. The wolves formed a ring around them and there was Michael with his sword at his side, talking to Meryl and Fix. Lily was next to them, but sort of apart, tears in her eyes and her lower lip was between her teeth. The three friends looked so sad, unsure, and a line of anger ran down Meryl's cheek.

Elaine sighed. "Please, she's telling the truth."

"And I should believe you?" snapped Dresden.

Harry sat up. "I'm up," he said, clearing his sore throat. "I'm good. Let her through."

The wound had healed like Aurora said. It was tender but it was better than bleeding out. Husband and wife were a bloody mess next to each other. Harry didn't let her get a word off before he was reaching for his wand next to him. The tip stabbed into her throat and burned bright with crystal blue light.

"You _bitch, _I'm going to—"

Aurora grabbed his wrist and stared into his eyes and simply said, "Look."

Their eyes locked and their skin contact opened the door that had been closed since the day they first took vows years ago. Some forced grabbed him and he fell into her eyes, deep, deep down he fell and he saw it. It was nature's first golden green, all bound up, small, but it was _growing_. This was the beginning of something beautiful, all the joy of springtime, renewal, and it was a green island that was becoming a country that would one day be a world.

Harry fell out of the soulgaze, because that's what it was. "That's not possible. You—you have a soul."

"And so do you. It's marvelous." Aurora took some hidden pleasure at his stunned expression, her smile widening a bit. "_He_ didn't expect that either. He thought he could use me. I'm no one's catspaw." Her eyes went distant.

What.

"Aurora I don't understand," said Harry shaking his head, so very confused. He was still reeling from seeing her _soul_.

Her eyes held him in place, a fierce expression crossing her face. "This whole thing was a diversion, dear Harry. Not mine, but I'm taking advantage. Pay attention now, because I have a plan."

* * *

Well there goes canon. So this is the true divergence point where things go completely left from the book series. Aurora's "plan" reveals a pretty big surprise that wouldn't fit with everything that already went down in this bit. Plus there's the whole explanation that's coming, too. Thanks to everyone that had a hand in shaping this chapter over at DLP, especially Nargles who did a huge chunk of on the fly editing that saved me a bunch of time to get this posted quicker.


	21. Mr & Mrs Potter

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter either. It belongs to its creator J.K. Rowling and probably Warner Bros. too. I'm not too sure about that. This piece of literature is simply the work of a humble fan. I also credit Jim Butcher for various themes, subjects, or references that I may use.

Author Notes: This is a Harry Potter crossover with the Dresden Files the book series. All my knowledge of the Dresden Files comes from the books. I've never seen the TV series. For the timeline that will be stated later. Thanks to the folks at DLP for help with editing.

* * *

**Awaken Sleeper.  
**Chapter Twenty: Mr. and Mrs. Potter  
by: Water Mage

Light poured onto the hilltop, radiant gold and blue meeting to bathe the area in a surreal halo. All sound ceased as the illumination revealed Titania and Mab, and their courts. The Queens of Faerie were resplendent in their battle gowns and finery similar in looks, but Mab's hair was winter white, and Titania's was more silvery and wavy, and her features were softer yet no less gorgeous. To Mab's right Maeve stood there in her white armor, and Mother Winter stood behind her, all shrouded in black. The Winter Queen herself was clothed in a gown of white silk, a vision of cold beauty, with a smile that cut like a knife. She was here for her justice, otherwise known as punishment.

Queen Titania surveyed the hilltop with interest. Puck was on her left with his hand on his sword hilt, crystalline plate smeared with blue fey blood. Behind him was Mother Summer glittering green eyes watching Harry with too much interest. Armored soldiers in full plate formed a semi-ring around their respective monarchy. The Courts of Faerie were gathered with every queen of past, present, and future. Aurora faced her peers and there was much to answer for.

"So many mortals, how delightful," said Maeve, looking around. She stared at Michael and licked her lips, smiling slowly when the Knight of the Cross fixed her with a judging gaze. "And Heaven's toy, I want to play with him."

Mab held up a hand, and the Winter Lady shrunk back still wearing a little smirk. "Quiet, Maeve. Mind your manners. I will have answers and I will have them now." She looked directly at Aurora, her eyes turning as white as moonlight. "I will show you why the words of my House are, _cold is the fury_."

"And my own are, burn them all to ash," said Aurora, facing Mab without a trace of fear. "Youngest queen of Summer I am, but I am _not_ someone to threaten."

_Well shit._ Harry swallowed, feeling like he was standing in the middle of ground zero.

A smile touched Mab's lips. Even as shitty as he felt, Harry could see through it. "The summer is over, child queen. Winter's coming and all slights and wounds will be returned in kind. Shall we discuss your treason against thy court _privately_?"

Aurora was going to say something, when Titania's ringing voice called out, "_Enough!_ Grave charges have been laid against you, daughter. Even I cannot hold at bay Winter's right for justice."

Such a Seelie thing to say. Titania was the Queen of Light and Illusion and has shaped her court as such. Scheming and lying was easy in the Summer Court, they're big on illusions like that. The motto _what you see is what you get_ originated from them. If it looks good it must be, right? The Unseelie fae might be considered the bad faeries, but usually they were more honest in the Winter Court, most of the time. Titania said she couldn't stop Mab from having her justice, but she didn't claim to not _retaliate in kind_.

Dresden and Harry exchanged a glance, too quick for anyone to see. Their thoughts were in line with each other. Being anywhere near two fighting Faerie Queens was asking for a death sentence. If Mab and Titania went head up directly they'd lay waste to this entire valley, turning anything living into paste. Chicago down below would be crushed from the fallout.

"You played a very stupid game, girl," Mab said with a cold smile. "Stand and be judged."

Puck folded his arms across his chest imperviously. "She's of Summer, she deserves better than the mockery of Winter justice."

"Would you like a cut on your left cheek to match the ugly one on the right," said Maeve, tapping at her own cheek for emphasis. She grinned at the Sidhe's bleeding gash, and Puck's eyes narrowed as his hand drifted to his sword's hilt.

"Stay your hand, General," murmured Mother Summer from directly behind him. His movement stilled, but he kept his glare on Maeve's smirking face.

Mab regarded Dresden and the wizard went still beneath that haughty, superior stare. "Wizard, come here."

Dresden leaned against his staff, and he looked dead on his feet. "I'm fine, thanks."

Instead of tearing out his heart and freezing it in her hand, Mab let out a rolling little laugh. Harry blinked in disbelief. Merlin's might, she must actually like Dresden. Anyone else would've eaten ice for back talking the Winter Queen.

"Come here, wizard, and I will not repeat myself again," commanded Mab, her voice turning hard.

Ah, there we go.

The tone left no room for argument. Dresden went over to her with a sigh, and really, Harry had to say the man had some balls. He'd seen Mab furious and it had been like staring into Death's face. She was like the mother all of dementors in the flesh, a living calamity. And apparently she and Dresden were on civil terms, kind of. Oh boy. He was judging his own taste in acquaintances, to be honest. Sad, but Hermione still remained the brightest friend he'd ever made.

"Uh, yeah," he said, voice tired. He looked at her wearily.

Mab's raspberry blue lips twisted into a smile. "Tell us what happened, my emissary. Tell it all, and tell it true. Your word will be witnessed by Faerie itself."

Dresden frowned. "We had a deal. I held up my end."

"Of course. Your White Council will have safe transport through the Nevernever by way of Winter territory."

"Not that deal," said Dresden, staring her down. "Our deal. I owe you two more favors and my debt you bought from my godmother will be paid."

Mab didn't blink as she looked into his eyes and purred, "Two more favors, and you will be free of me." Her cat eyes narrowed, and Dresden grabbed at his throat, eyes widening as he struggled for breath. "Normally I like your fire. Such anger. Such boldness. But when I ask something you will obey. This is a trial of Sidhe. Matters dealing with mortals are periphery."

Dresden took a sudden deep gasp of breath, and even wheezing still managed a decent glare at the queen. "You could've just said so."

"Pain makes a good motivator, no?"

"Emperor Palpatine thinks so, too," said Dresden, rubbing his throat. At her blank stare, he exhaled and said, "It went down like I told you when I first got here. Aurora killed Reuel and masterminded this whole thing. She tried to throw the Courts off balance by pouring the power of the Summer Knight into Winter."

"Untrue."

All eyes landed on Elaine. She didn't take her eyes off Dresden's incredulous stare; her own opaque expression gave nothing away. "Did Aurora kill Reuel herself?"

What the. Dresden looked at her and said slowly, "No, but—"

"Who killed him then, wizard?" Aurora's eyes glittered as she posed the question.

Dresden gritted his teeth. "Lloyd Slate killed him, but—"

"Be that as it may Lloyd Slate was a traitor," said Mab, holding out a hand to silence Dresden's retort. "You called him into service. He was your weapon. So his actions will be held accountable by you."

Aurora lifted her chin. "And that's where you're mistaken. It was I who was the weapon. Your Knight called _me_ into service. He used me."

The statement brought on surprise that filled the air like a thick cloud. It was on everyone's face except for the Sidhe. There was something wholly inhuman about how expression drained from their faces. Their faces looked totally alien. Nothing reflected in their eyes. It was positively eerie to see the Courts regard her with empty silence.

"How can that be?" Titania murmured, frowning.

Mab's expression was cold and distant. "Slate had no means to do such a thing. What you speak of is magic from Before."

Mother Summer's chortle was rough, worn and short. Her power was waning as time ticked. Winter was on the rise. "But it can be done."

"Halcyon Queen speaks true," Mother Winter's brusque voice came from beneath her veil. "Servants of balance our kind once was. There are arts that can revive those bindings when the stars come around again to the right positions in the cycle of eternity."

"There are serpents hiding from the light," said Mother Summer, quietly. "They stand in shadow and whisper."

"He would need help bewitching a Sidhe. Slate was nothing but muscle," said Maeve, looking like it displeased her to even agree with the Summer Mother.

Mab regarded Aurora with empty silence. A cold shiver danced down Harry's spine. The Winter Queen didn't look appeased. At all. She spoke and her voice was a chilling caress that was haunting and made you want to lean in to hear her more clearly and simultaneously go running for the hills.

"So you were possessed this entire time?" Mab whispered. Her iridescent eyes were dark and something dangerous lurked there. "None of this matter was your doing?"

Aurora's battle gown was scorched and blackened. She was a bloody mess, but her eyes were clear and her face wasn't the terrifying nightmare of before. She shook her head at the Winter Queen.

"My thoughts were someone else's," said Aurora, meeting that cold stare. "It's been so for a long time now."

A savage wind kicked up from nowhere blowing through the hilltop in a cold fury. Ice sped along the ground and Mab's eyes were like two stars set upon her lovely and _furious _face. One second she was there and in a blur of motion two long strides had her in Aurora's space, lifting the young queen up into the air by her neck.

"_Lies!_" Mab spat, drawing everyone into action.

There was a flurry of abrupt motion. Michael drew his sword, Meryl stepped in front of Lily and Fix, and Dresden's staff went up as Harry drew his wand. Adrenaline flooded him as both Queens' own guards sprung into motion to close ranks on the rest of the nobility. Golden radiance and blue suddenly exploded together in a cerulean supernova of light and sound. The ground shook and the wolves howled as they were the closest to the blast, and the shockwave hit them like a train.

Mab and Titania faced each other both glowing with a visible aura of power that cracked the earth beneath their feet. Aurora stood behind her mother and there was hardness in her eyes that shone with her own gathering strength.

"You know that none of the fae, great or small, may lie," said Titania, voice echoing with authority.

That was true. He didn't know how Aurora was lying through her teeth, because he knew damn well she used glamour on Slate. He was her bitch for this entire con. A flash of insight hit him like a brick, and his eyes widened finally getting it. _What if, maybe…_It all fit. He knew how she was doing it.

White teeth flashed as Mab's lips twisted in a snarl. "I won't be deceived, Titania."

"Your Knight killed mine. Then my Hand killed your Knight, he's Aequitas Lumina. Judge, jury, and executioner," said the Summer Queen. Deadly golden energy gathered in her hands, contradictory to her words. "The matter is closed. Balance is restored and the war is over."

Anger, cold and terrible flashed in her eyes. "This isn't over."

"Your Final Frost was in my rooms within my domain in the mortal world," said Aurora, raising her voice over the static in the air from the tangible waves of building power. She narrowed her eyes. "Care to discuss that?"

The ice on the ground grew suddenly thick and frost formed over every surface, including Harry's eyebrows. Mab's eyes filled with terrible rage that twisted her cold and lovely face into a snarling monstrosity from some dark fairytale.

"It was you who sent me his head. You killed Yahkphrust," Mab snarled, hair crackled around her head like spider silk. Her voice was full of such absolute rage, every vowel felt like a sledgehammer against their ears, and within it crawled other sounds; cracking, frigid sounds, like ice shattering on the surface of a lake. It sent the mortals to their knees, and pain danced just under their skin filling their veins with ice.

Aurora blinked at her, making the innocent gesture seem anything but, as she titled her head and said with such blithe confidence, "Prove it."

The world exploded into chaos.

Events took a turn for the wicked as Puck _lunged _at Maeve, and she moved to counter in a blur. The ring of guards readied to defend the Mothers, but the old queens were already acting in concert as if they even needed such protection. And then, from behind the wall of armor, unspeakably beautiful light surged upward from the Mothers' positions and showered over Dresden and his company whisking them away some place, hopefully far away from here, in motes of glittery faerielight. The chaos didn't leave Harry time to question why the light didn't take him, too, when sheer magical might rolled through the land.

A small typhoon was birthed into existence in a crescendo of incredible green light. Waves of eldritch power roiled forth, as the Queens Who Are dispersed into blazing comets that ascended on high burning the aether apart with their presence.

There was a deafening explosion that made everyone cry out when they collided in the skies above, two globular masses of terrifying power that shook the entire valley and left devastation in their wake below. Rain turned to snow, hurricane force winds blasted across the hills, and lightning struck the earth in rapid bursts. Where the lightning touched ice formed over flesh and stone alike instantly, and then in another stroke ice became flame. It was a painting of nightmare and wonder as this all happened in the span of a few minutes.

_They were going to kill them all._

There was chaos everywhere as the world turned frozen and white as the snow deepened. The golden comet and the cold star swelled mid combat and raw, primal terror rose up in Harry's mind, and it nearly unmade him. He struggled to stand as the forces pressed down upon him like a great weight. This was the power of the Faerie Queens, who were the forces of nature itself made flesh, and white spots appeared in his vision as it nearly made him blackout. _He couldn't take too much more of this._ Gravity warped, and his body felt heavy and light all at once. Great crags opened in the ground as the valley was splintered and torn apart all around them. Tir Na Nog turned into ground zero and was spiraling rapidly toward destruction.

Aurora appeared in front of him as the Sidhe courts dispersed, simply vanishing away as they fled to safety. "Come along now," she called over the roar of noise, hair flapping in the force winds.

Harry's eyes looked behind her and widened. "Watch out!"

Brandishing the White Wand before the warning was completed, a bright silver shield formed with a _snap _to protect Aurora's unprotected backside. Deadly blue energy lashed against the barrier with enough power to not only blind them both, but send Aurora tumbling three meters past him.

A bulk of Harry's power was already extended to the shield shimmering around Aurora when the second bolt slammed into him. Every sense that Harry possessed screamed agony, all the while his body went careening through the air. He didn't feel himself land or his leg and arm break on impact. This was pain beyond pain. It felt as if somebody had taken his body, pulled it inside out and tossed him into a pit filled with supercharged plasma. Everything was white and there was nothing but excruciating agony. His battered body laid there wheezing as all around him the shaking valley froze in arctic winds, fractured and burned in waves of immolating fire.

_This is how I'm going to die._

With that forlorn thought it was about then that he heard the sound, and even as he did, he realized it had been there with him through the pain all along. It sounded like someone reassuring him, whispering in his mind comforting words, and then his vision was filled with faint yet vibrant light, it was beautiful and it was terrible. And within that light was music—a lullaby, maybe—and he fell into that burning light. There was another spike of unbearable pain before the sweet mercy of black wrapped him up.

And then there was silence.

* * *

Noises drifted through the haze of Harry's unconsciousness as he struggled to open his eyes. The attempt was met by darkness and then the dim glow of candlelight. He lay there feeling dizzy, tired and sore but _alive_. Merlin help him, he didn't know how he still lived, but he was thankful for small favors. Even if he did feel like shit.

"Easy there, Houdini."

The words hung around the haze he floated in. This time Harry opened his eyes and focused. The world slowly went right as the glaze in Harry's green eyes cleared, and he confirmed the voice's owner. Dresden scratched at his five o'clock shadow before taking a seat on the coffee table beside the couch Harry lay on.

"Uh, here you go," said Dresden, handing him a glass of water and some pills. "It's only Tylenol, but it's better than nothing. It should help with the pain some."

Harry downed the pills with a gulp of water. He took stock of himself. His leg and arm were in makeshift splints and bandages covered a good portion of his body. Dresden or someone else had taken time to clean him up. He was in good company.

"How'd I get here?" asked Harry.

Dresden raised his eyebrows. "You don't remember? You dropped out of the sky at the wharves right after we got beamed down."

No, he didn't remember because he was once again arm wrestling with Death. Harry barely nodded, accepting the information quietly. "Is everyone okay?"

"Yeah, Michael and the wolves all made it out safe," Dresden answered with a half smile tinged with relief. "Those kids did good up there." His smile slipped into a frown when he tracked his eyes over Harry. "You're going to be out of commission for awhile, buddy. You broke your leg, your left arm and three ribs including—"

Harry held up his hand gritting his teeth when pain flooded his nervous system. "Wand, please?"

His request caused Dresden to pause. "Is this a cry for help?"

"Really, even when I'm on my deathbed?"

"I'm hilarious and you know it," said Dresden, handing him the white ash wand perched on the table's edge. "You aren't even dying quit playing it up. You'll be up and going—"

_"Ferula,_" Harry muttered with his eyes closed, followed by, "_Venera Sanentur." _The wounds on his body knitted and bones mended in a hot and cold sensation of healing magic. The incantation sounded almost like a song as he repeatedly cast the spell, and by the third time removed most of his visible injuries.

"…in no time." Dresden finished, staring as Harry pulled himself up so he was sitting comfortably on the couch. He ran a hand down his shocked face and let out a harsh sigh. "Okay, game over. I was going to wait until you felt better, but I guess that's now._ Hell's bells_ what's going on! Why did Aurora wave a white flag, how in the hell did you go up against a Faerie Queen and _live_? If you say you're a wizard one more time, so help me Potter I'll open a can on you. _What are you?_"

Harry quirked an eyebrow. "I'm a wizard."

Dresden looked him dead in the eyes. "I will smack your teeth straight."

"Honestly," said Harry, letting the seriousness pool into his eyes. This man fought at his back and he deserved some answers, _some_ not all_._This wasn't some chick flick, Harry didn't do sharing."I am a wizard. Look, a long time ago all wizards used staffs."

"Yeah, yeah," Dresden interjected. He looked a little less irritated. "I know all that. Merlin started that trend, and then he rallied wizards together to form the White Council."

"What if some wizards splintered off and their choice of focus was the wand and _not _the staff?" Harry looked at the pale white stick in his lap, and Dresden followed his gaze with a thoughtful frown. "A different technique of magic was taught to reflect the new order. I'm a disciple of this off branch of wizardry."

A flat look was what he earned. "So, let me get this straight. You're a wizard, but a different order? Like I'm a Jedi and you're Sith."

Harry blinked. "I have no clue what you're talking about. Are those bands?"

Dresden throttled the sudden smile trying to fight its way onto his face. And really, it's not like Harry was telling an outright lie. It was a truth of sorts only from his universe. Sure he liked Dresden, but he wasn't up for telling his deepest secret—he didn't belong here.

"So where's the rest of your Sith order?"

"Once there were many of us—something happened." He paused, eyes going distant. He couldn't help the melancholy that slipped into his voice. "Now there's just me."

Dresden leaned forward, frowning. "What happened?"

Harry shook his head. That he honestly didn't know. Three years later, and he still didn't know how he got here. "Good question. When you find out tell me."

The frustration was real and it translated in the way he held his shoulders and the line of tension running down his jaw. Dresden got up and stepped into the little alcove that served as his kitchen. Harry didn't see what he was doing, but he returned about a minute later. Dresden handed Harry a mug of coffee and took his seat, clutching his own cup. He took the peace offering for what it was. No doubt he wasn't completely off the hook.

"So Aurora," said Dresden readily, and Harry was all down for changing the subject. "Why'd she give up, and how was she flat out lying? That's a faerie no no."

"She has a soul."

Dresden snorted. "Come on. Only humans have souls. That's why we're hated on by every big nasty without one."

"Regardless, she's got one," sad Harry frankly. He decided to get right down to it. He needed to bounce ideas off someone. "Here's the deal, a few years ago there was an accident and some ritual went down. Now Aurora and I are linked because of it, and since I'm me and I always screw things up, something unprecedented happened—she gained some of my magic and I have summer power in me. I think—" Here he paused to gather his thoughts. "I think it's because of me she has a soul. If our link triggered her to grow one, or if she absorbed a piece of mine and its now maturing… I can't say."

The emotions on Dresden's ran gamut confusion, shock and fascination all at once as he took in the details and allowed the ramifications to sink in. He was completely speechless, his mouth opening and closing before he let out a curse and looked intently at Harry.

"Are you sure she has a soul?"

The spark of something beautiful like the sunrise flashed through his mind, and Harry nodded, saying, "Her soulgazing me pretty much confirms it, yeah?"

"A Faerie Queen with a soul," Dresden murmured, his face darkening at the thought. "No wonder she was lying out of her ass, she _could_. A soul gives her willpower to bypass nature's laws. _And _she has mortal magic going for her. When Aurora becomes monarch of the Seelie fae the Summer Court will be untouchable."

That was Harry's working theory. A soul was a priceless thing. Often disregarded by mortals but jealously coveted by those without, like demons and their ilk to marvel upon and collect. A soul was a mesh of human spirit, willpower, memory and a right to exist in the light and dark. It was the power of choice and it was beautiful.

Faeries were soulless creatures. It was a fact of nature. They were beings of the earth given flesh and purpose. Lack of soul left them susceptible to laws that were as old as the Earth itself, certain checks and balances, formed by compacts and wars of aeons gone to protect the mortal purchase upon the world. It was those same laws of nature that prevented the Mothers from acting directly in the faerie war. With a soul nothing could prevent Aurora from acting as any mortal could. She could lie, cheat, kill anyone she wanted just like any other person with a soul.

Even Mab and Titania were compelled by treaties formed from the broken bodies of gods of Before and neo faith burned throughout time marjoram. And now Aurora wasn't—the thought was frightening.

"Shit." Dresden swore, and he downed the rest of his coffee like a shot.

Harry frowned into his own cup. "You said it."

Rubbing at his temple, Dresden closed his eyes and composed himself. When he opened them his dark eyes were clear and sharp. He was all business again. "Okay, so she has a soul and she has mortal magic. But what's behind door number two? Why did she throw in the towel up there?"

"Did Lily come back with you guys?" asked Harry, remembering the surprise turn around of the Summer Knight changeling. "She's got a lot to answer for."

His mouth tightened with anger, and Dresden glared at a point on the ground. "That bitch incinerated Toot and the rest of those Little Folk. I asked those faeries to help me, and now they're dead. That's on me."

It was a brilliant maneuver bringing the faeries into the fight to be his secret weapon, armed with iron. No one expected the Little Folk to be called into service, especially for the task of assassinating a Faerie Queen. They were often overlooked because of their size, like house elves.

"Sorry, mate," Harry offered wearing a sympathetic look.

"Lily vanished with the Summer fae, and the Winter Court whisked off Meryl. Fix is kind of a mess right now."

"Poor kid."

They shared a moment of silence thinking of the little changeling who was on his own now. Both his friends were in the service of the Sidhe courts and he was all alone.

Dresden jabbed his finger on the tabletop. "Elaine's got some explaining to do. Whose side is really on? She helped me get through Aurora's wall of thorns. And she let me break through her binding back in the Nevernever."

"She said she was forced to follow a plan, but not hers…. The war was a diversion," said Harry slowly, remembering Aurora's words and still trying to make sense of them.

"A diversion from what?"

Two green eyes locked with a single pair of brown and Harry nodded. "It's time Aurora explained herself."

.-.

The lands of Faerie within the Nevernever were constantly shifting because it reflected the changing mortal world, but it was simple to navigate once you got the gist of it. The Summer territories Harry was most familiar with by association. They followed a trail that led out of the forest of golden trees, with its haunting song and whispers that grew louder with each footstep. Across the sea of green grass was the white castle of Lux Sanctum sitting on the coastline and beyond it was an ocean of glistening blue water.

"You see that?" asked Dresden, pointing.

Harry tracked the plumes of black smoke curling up from Titania's stronghold. "An attack, you think?"

"Definitely." The taller wizard replied with certainty. "Looks like it happened recently."

Summer's had the edge on Winter for awhile now. Global warming was a testament to that. Whoever attacked Titania's seat of power was either asking for a death wish, or they knew they could get away with it. The latter made him nervous.

"That's not where we're going, though." Harry remarked casually. Titania could clean up her own mess. He pointed into the distance at a tiny speck on the ocean's horizon. "There."

Dresden made a show of looking down at his leather coat and staff. "Gee golly, I must have forgotten you mentioning we were going for a swim, Aquaman."

"That's rude. I could have a boat." Harry grinned at the flat look Dresden aimed at him. "Okay, we both know I don't have a boat."

"And that's where Aurora is? Are you sure?" Dresden stressed, leaning on his staff.

The thing was this wasn't the first unnatural connection Harry's had with another person. It wasn't quite a horcrux link but Harry had experience, and he manipulated the bond in the same fashion. Voldemort left himself exposed to mental intrusion during strong bouts of emotion. Aurora was no different. Right now she was immensely pleased. That worried him. Harry locked up his Occlumency barriers tight.

"I'm sure," he answered, pulling at the thread of knowledge he gleamed from his spying. "On that island is castle Fyrethroat. That's where Aurora is and that's where we need to be."

Dresden's face crinkled with confusion. "How are we supposed to get over there? There's always opening a Way from—"

Harry didn't let Dresden finish. He grabbed the wizard's arm and dark eyes went wide as the world went black and lurched sideways as they twisted through space and time. The awful squeezing sensation was short lived, and Harry's side-along apparation deposited them successfully in a quiet courtyard. Dresden stumbled backward as Harry stood there admiring the masonry, hands behind his back and whistling up at the towering walls made of clear crystal like quartz.

"Stars and stones, what was that?" Dresden demanded, face dreadfully white. "Do you do that every time you Houdini off?"

Harry shrugged. "You get used to it. At least you didn't throw up. Pretty good for your first time."

Dresden gave him the finger eliciting a grin from the younger man. They looked around the empty courtyard and it was silent except for the soft splashing of water from the fountain shooting clear water into a little pool. Tall trees, wild roses and exotic flowers flowed throughout the yard that was easily the size of a gymnasium. A silver bird trilled a strange song and flew between the branches. The quartz crystal shaped into starbursts formed archways leading into the main keep. Harry quirked an eyebrow and swept his arm out.

"Age before beauty."

Dresden jabbed his thumb at himself. "Leave the one-liners to me, Potter."

Nevertheless he stalked forward through the archway with his staff held ready. The walls of the hallway Dresden lead them into were warm to the touch. If Harry had to guess he would say the strange crystal was dragonglass. Elaine told him eons ago dragons controlled this part of the Nevernever and the entire region was once filled with active volcanoes that they made their home. In fact this island might've been created by one of those volcanoes. The Summer fae version of a vacation home. Classy.

"Can you feel her out?" asked Dresden. At Harry's what the hell face, he elaborated, "You know, use the Force? You're the Sith Lord. I thought you had her lowjacked."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Just because I get your Star Wars jokes now doesn't make them funny, okay?"

"They're always funny," Dresden rebuffed, genuinely offended.

"And it doesn't work like that," said Harry, following beside him through the torch lit hallway. Their footsteps were loud in the silence. "Where's everyone?"

A small smirk found its way to Dresden's face. "Probably dealing with what's going down in Lux Sanctum."

"Good point."

They came to a point where the hallway split into two corridors. Both looked identical and Harry shrugged at Dresden's questioning stare. He was tempted to just start throwing around blasting curses until Aurora came running around, but they were going for subtlety here.

"You take left and I take right?"

"Or you could go left and that'd lead you to the parlour where Aurora is," said Elaine, appearing in a shimmer from under a dropped veil. She adjusted her green cloak and only stared at the ends of both focuses trained on her. "Really, guys?"

Harry glared. "Funny. Start talking, Elaine."

Dresden nodded. "It's not often me and him are in agreement. Are you on our side or not?"

"Just follow me and you'll get your answers," Elaine replied cryptically.

That was not the right answer. Dresden grabbed Harry as he whipped back his wand arm. "Stop! I believe her. She's a liar, but she's been a helpful one so far.

Elaine looked at him, personally affronted. "You were really going to curse me?"

"I have trust issues. You know that."

It wasn't like he was going to curse her with an Unforgivable. She broke his trust, but that didn't warrant anything fatal. He was just going to transfigure her into a toad or something. They did use to be friends, after all. Dresden gave him one of those silent looks, and he sighed, begrudgingly lowering his wand.

"I'm sorry, really," said Elaine, fully away at how inadequate it sounded given the situation. "Please, just come with me. Aurora will explain, okay?"

That earned a mirthless smile from Dresden. "This should be a good one."

There was a pause before she replied, "Promise."

Dresden didn't try to make small talk with her as she showed them to the parlour room, which Harry took that to mean he was still giving her the cold shoulder. Fyrethroat was a lot less grand than the dazzling edifices and countless servants of Lux Sanctum. It was smaller, too, but there was strength here in these crystal walls that made him think it wouldn't easily fall under siege. His mind then drifted to Aurora and he stopped that thought before it began otherwise he would hex her on sight, or, or… he wasn't sure what he was going to do.

The parlour room's crystal walls refracted the soft light from the ceiling in an impossible array of prismatic color. Looking at the walls was like staring at a kaleidoscope and it was an entrancing sight that drew the eye away from the ornate furniture around the room. The same couldn't be said about the massive growling dog with glowing red eyes. It barred its teeth as the three wizards entered, and it was easily the size of a small pony. One huge paw stepped in their direction, and its body jerked forcefully from the chain tied around its neck.

The thick chain was held by Aurora's hands perched delicately in her lap. She sat in the room's armchair wearing a yellow gown that shimmered like stardust in the room's light. The gown was cut low, and left her shoulders and arms bare. Her chartreuse eyes shifted colors as she watched them enter, and rose red lips split into a smile. The hellhound growled once more and then draped its massive body at her feet, red eyes tracking them with apparent hunger. Elaine moved past them and came to stand at the right of her chair.

"Well," Dresden said, "all we need is some organ music, and we'll be good to go."

Aurora tilted her head, confused. "I'm glad you're in good spirits." She looked at Harry, and her smile was wider. "An impressive recovery, my husband. Being bonded to me makes you harder to kill, but death is a possibility even so."

Harry arched an eyebrow. "Am I supposed to thank you for getting me out of there?"

The glance Aurora and Elaine traded was short, but he caught it. She shook her head. "You escaped before I could take you with me. I thought you departed under your own power."

Trying to recall a face past the burning light and comforting words was impossible. All he remembered was pain and the vague sense that he was going to be okay in the end. If that hadn't been Aurora then he didn't have a clue who saved him. Couldn't say it was a death eater turned spy this time. Whatever, he was alive and a mysterious savior was the least of his worries right now.

"So what's with the empty castle?" asked Dresden, getting right down to it. He held her with a lidded glare. "Is this where they put little girls when they've been naughty?"

Harry made a face. "Be less creepy."

"You know what I meant," the wizard huffed, grimacing at the double meaning.

Aurora ignored their banter. "My mother has recalled most of the Seelie to deal with the matter at Lux Sanctum. I'm here because I'm going to deal with it my own way." The Summer Lady's unease manifested in the subtle change in her posture. "Sometime during the battle Lux Sanctum was attacked, and Oberon was broken out from his prison."

"As in Oberon the Mighty?" said Dresden, thoroughly shocked.

Aurora nodded an affirmative. "My father once again walks unchained."

Harry paled noticeably. He wasn't sure exactly how much trouble they were in, but he had seen that Sidhe's formidable prison, and he witnessed firsthand how deceptive Oberon could be even slapped behind a ton of wards. Harry caught the unmistakable flicker of horror on Dresden's face before he wiped it away.

"You know him?"

Dresden blinked back, completely caught off guard by the question. "Who doesn't know the story? Oberon was bad as bad got. Think Hitler of the Faerie world. He annihilated anything that wasn't Sidhe. Merlin was close to the Little Folk, so challenged him in open combat. Oberon cheated and killed him."

"He was imprisoned and has been so ever since, until now," returned the Summer Lady, staring pensively at the chain in her hands.

Harry's mouth fell open. "_Bloody hell_, Merlin's murderer is your dad?" He rubbed at his temples. It still wasn't adding up. "So the battle was a diversion so someone could free him? But you're not helping him."

Aurora's serenity melted away like ice, and fury gathered in her eyes piercing him in place. Soul she may have, but she was still Sidhe and there was nothing human how the expression seeped out of her face. She was very still like a predator about to pounce, and so very angry.

"I used to visit my father everyday even when my mother forbade it," her voice was bland, lacking the searing power that thrummed in her veins. "He would tell me stories and make me feel like I was the only thing that ever mattered. It went on like that for uncounted years. Then I met you."

"Me?" Harry blinked, then frowned deeply. "I didn't do anything."

"But you did…" Aurora considered him thoughtfully. "The Vow of Clasped Hands was only supposed to share energy between us in a bond that would anchor our lifeforce to the other. A mortal normally wouldn't survive the process. My power would consume you and incinerate you from the inside out."

"Well that's," Harry opened his mouth, then let it snap shut as his brain had trouble processing the fact that he was only alive on a freaking whim. "But…you seemed so sure."

Aurora nodded and leaned forward to stare intently. "The way the Nevernever hums around you… I knew you were made of different substance than normal humans. I took a risk and it worked, only—I gained your magic and a piece of your soul, too."

_Horcrux! _Harry's eyes widened and his fingers twitched toward his wand. "That's my soul inside of you growing?"

"It started out that way, but the fires of Summer inside me purified it, changed it, and now it's _mine_," she laid a hand over her chest, and there was no denying the real heat in her voice. She was telling the truth. "It took time for it to evolve and it still is. But it's given me clarity. I know what love is. I know what happiness truly is. My head's clear and I see truly that Oberon was using me. He bewitched me into doing his bidding. This whole scheme was his plan and I went along with it, and while my soul gave me new vision I plotted, too."

Harry found himself sitting down on the lounge without conscious thought. This was throwing him off, and a stiff drink was very much needed. He was almost afraid to ask her what her plan was. He didn't have to because Dresden asked, and she cracked a humorless smile that sent a shiver down his spine.

"I _let _Oberon escape. He and his allies want a regime change the likes of which hasn't been seen since the Outsiders were banished."

Dresden frowned. "Allies? Like who?"

"Denarians, council wizards, court vampires and old gods of ages gone," Aurora let it sink in and her smile gained a sharp edge. "He's going to lead me right to them, and I'm going to kill them all."

That drink was a must at this point. "You can't kill all of them."

"It's either that or let them break down the Outer Gates like they're planning on," Aurora answered Harry's skeptical tone with a steely stare.

Well when you put it like that. He swallowed heavily. Dresden was in a similar state of shock. An ice age was a godsend to having those unholy terrors unleashed onto the Earth. The Outsiders were monsters to the monsters, and if they came then it was only matter of time before they ushered the way for the Old Ones. All the while Elaine stood by Aurora's chair leaning against the armrest, watching their reactions closely. She spoke up for the first time.

"Now you see what's on the line," said Elaine. She stared them down. "The apocalypse is coming up, boys. We need your help."

Dresden shook his head. He was pale as a sheet. "When you said council wizards, you don't mean the White Council? There's no way—"

"So young," Aurora murmured. "Wheels within wheels, wizard. As long as there's been a White Council there's been those sitting in its shadows waiting to seize power."

Elaine sighed at Dresden's incredulous face. "Do the math. Every wizard with enough power and training sits on the White Council. All that magical juice gathered under one banner is an army waiting to happen."

Aurora laid a hand on Elaine's arm. "At peace, my friend. Take him back to the mortal world. He's gotten a lot of information in a short amount of time. He needs to gather himself." She turned her cat-like eyes onto Dresden. "You'll have to make a decision soon. Dark times are on the horizon. Choose where you'll stand."

The bombshell left him beyond shaken, and Harry could only tell because he'd gotten quite good at reading Dresden. He downplayed it well, though. Five points to Gryffindor. Harry was a few seconds away from just throwing back his head and screaming. Life was never going to get done throwing shit at him. He got up to follow Dresden when Aurora quietly asked him to stay.

"I'll be fine," said Harry, waving Dresden off. He looked at Elaine, standing at Dresden's side and he spoke to her directly, "Take him to a bar. He needs a drink, and you might want to have one ready for me, too."

She smiled then, understanding the undertone of acceptance of her apology. "Done and done, Harry."

They left and there was no one in the shining room except for Aurora and Harry, and the growling hellhound. He almost forgot about the beast sitting on the floor glaring at him like fresh meat. Harry tapped his wand against his knee. It made him feel safer with that hellhound around.

"I swear Aurora if you're lying _again_—"

"Where did you get that?" Aurora queried eyes wide as she stared at the wand. There was something like horrified fascination on her face.

How did she realize? Harry slowly held up the White Wand knowing his secret was out. "I got it from Mother Summer before you and your crew ambushed us outside her cottage."

The way she looked at the wand made him nervous. "A gift from my kind is always two fold, dear husband. Do not over rely on it. Never."

He glanced at her and then back at the wand. It hadn't let him down so far, but the same could be said of the Elder Wand. The most powerful wand often left its master's cold dead fingers when it changed hands. He slipped the wand in his pocket musing on the matter.

"Uh, okay. So, are you going to tell me whole truth," he commented casually.

Aurora's smile was radiant, and it had the effect of making him crack a small one in response."You know me well."

"Not that well or I would've seen this coming," Harry remarked. He rubbed his chin, thoughtfully. "The battle was a diversion that you willingly let happen, but why didn't you tell any of this to Titania or Mab? Why are you holed up here instead of Solaria Garden?"

Her smile widened and she laughed, so high and clear you could have bottled it. "You always surprise me. This island was once my father's. While all of Earth and the Nevernever are being turned inside out looking for Oberon, what better place to hide than the one least suspected. Fyrethroat is directly under mother's nose."

"So you are hiding," he pointed out, and then narrowed his eyes at her growing smirk. "What did you do?"

Aurora laughed again. The hellhound let out a sound in its chest like a rumble in response. She looked at him through her lashes and Harry was momentarily struck dumb by her beauty. Her lips quirked at the corners, she noticed.

"Lux Sanctum wasn't the only stronghold attacked."

Harry sucked in a breath. "Did you assault Arctis Tor?"

"Hardly," she quipped, and it looked like she was enjoying this too much. "I sent a team on a retrieval mission to the Leanansidhe's frozen citadel. They breached the defenses of Frostfang itself, which was only possible because you kept that cursed priestess busy."

A frown tugged at his lips. He didn't know how he felt with inadvertently helping her. "What did they retrieve?"

"Years ago there was a wizard who was a great friend to the fae. She was bold and arrogant, idealistic and there was no place she knew better than the Ways of the Nevernever. Vampires, wizards, faeries all shared their secrets with her, and they knew none of hers. Except one. Leaninsidhe and this wizard made many deals and bargains."

"Nice story, so what happened to this wizard?"

"She was cursed fatally, but the Leaninsidhe stepped in. She wouldn't let death cheat her from their bargain," said Aurora, her fingers slid into the thick black fur of the hellhound.

And then beneath her fingers, fur reverted to pale flesh and red eyes faded to dark brown. The beast's body rippled and all at once became human. The woman let out a strangled noise and scrambled backward until her back hit the wall. Pulling her knees up to her chest, she wrapped her arms around them and stared warily up at them from under a tangle of matted black hair. Harry gaped at the dirty, naked woman, stunned.

"You _stole _one of Lea's hellhounds?"

Aurora stood from her chair and surveyed the woman with interest. "This is the woman I spoke of. She's a wizard who knows more about Oberon and his allies' plans than anyone else alive."

Grand statement, but right now she looked like she might be one screw loose. "Who is she?"

"Harry Potter, meet Margaret Dresden."

His head snapped around to meet her iridescent eyes. "Any relation to…"

Aurora nodded, decisively. "His mother."

Margaret threw back her head and suddenly _cackled_. Harry tore his gaze from Aurora's pleased smirk to stare at the laughing woman. Dresden wasn't an orphan anymore and his mom was insane apparently.

Oh boy.


	22. Nothing Like the Sun

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter either. It belongs to its creator J.K. Rowling and probably Warner Bros. too. I'm not too sure about that. This piece of literature is simply the work of a humble fan. I also credit Jim Butcher for various themes, subjects, or references that I may use.

Author Notes: This is a Harry Potter crossover with the Dresden Files the book series. All my knowledge of the Dresden Files comes from the books. I've never seen the TV series. Thanks to the folks at DLP for help with editing.

* * *

**Awaken Sleeper.  
**Chapter Twenty One: Nothing Like the Sun  
by: Water Mage

In dealings with the Sidhe Courts remember: Some winter days are mild and sunny. And a summer storm can be brutal and vicious.

Things aren't always what they seem.

It had been four weeks since the Faerie War and Aurora's revealed duplicity, two since Harry began treatments to restore Margaret Dresden to sanity. Although he contemplated stabbing Aurora repeatedly, Harry was forced to keep a cool head. Any wound he inflicted on her would be dealt to him, such was the nature of their metaphysical connection. It was what it was, and for better or worse this was the ultimate price of a deal that saved his life. However, though they had a somewhat dysfunctional partnership, their true agenda was not lost.

Oberon and his allies wanted a revolution the likes of which hadn't been seen since the holocaust of the old gods. Humanity had built their steel cities on the ashes of these fallen beings and all the while the shadows gathered and plots were sown. After weeks of reconnaissance they were truly beginning to grasp the major players. Yet it was Margaret Dresden who was their trump card. In her fractured mind was key intel of the elusive organization.

The Queenswood was a dangerous place these days. Harry made swift pace through the forest careful to mind his step and keep his presence undetected. It wasn't uncommon to run afoul of some searching hunters setting out from Lux Sanctum. Titania had placed a bounty on Oberon's head that rewarded lordship to anyone no matter their low birth or station, a piece of land and a Sidhe's weight in gold to whoever brought the rogue king in dead or alive. Phoenixes were carrying her promise to every part of Faerie, and it would be soon when word crossed the divide to other realms of spirit in the Nevernever, like the Iron Jungle and the Wailing Islands and then the lands beyond. Hunters prowled to the ends of the Nevernever riding on their horses, hell hawks and other demi beasts tearing the spirit lands apart for their prey.

Harry came out of the large forest directly south of the high walled castle of Lux Sanctum sitting on the coastline. A mirage of heat waves danced above the green fields in the distance between. It was growing hotter everyday in the lands of Summer. The weather reflected its queen's mood.

_If Titania grows any angrier the whole kingdom might as well sit in the center of the sun. _When Harry apparated into the courtyard of Fyrethroat his upper body was covered in a thin layer of sweat. The dragonglass walls of the main keep loomed around him reflecting the sun's light in a prismatic array of color. The sight of them made him feel more confident. Titania's hunters were gaining a fearsome reputation. _The only spider here I should fear here is Aurora. _

Harry tapped his chest with his wand tip and instantly felt refreshed and much cooler. He let out a contented sigh and made his through the winding corridors. There was no point in searching for Aurora. He already knew where she was. The Chamber of Brightwater was a cavernous room host to a long avenue where sat a large, ornate fountain spilling luminous blue water over its sides. The enchanted water fell into a wide pool that circled the entire room and lit the chamber up with a cool blue glow like the inside of an aquarium. Steps led to the top of the fountain where upon a mounted platform sat a raised chair made of pale gray marble.

Aurora stood before the fountain's steps staring into the shimmering pool. The water's glow reflected in her eyes when she looked up at his entrance, blue dancing within green. She was dressed as commonly as Harry in a pair of jeans and t-shirt. With the outfit and her hair gathered in a ponytail, she could probably be mistaken for a coed. Which was the point.

"Were you followed?" she asked.

Harry rolled his eyes. "Hello to you, too. And no I wasn't. A group of riders with Lord Orophir's coat of arms almost made me near the borderlands. It wasn't hard to shake them. It's not like they're looking for me anyway."

"Discretion is key," the Summer Lady cautioned, frowning. "The less anyone knows the better."

"You know they're calling you the Queen in Hiding?" Harry didn't supply her other name of Aurora the Tricked the smallfolk whispered in secret councils.

Aurora shrugged. "As long as my enemies think the same, they won't see me coming until the knife is at their back."

"I still say you should ask Titania for help," he suggested, crossing his arms. "She wants Oberon's head just as much as you do."

She shook her head. "There might be some changelings within the courts that harbor a soul, but they're tools and they have their uses. I'm a Queen of Summer. I am light and earth and the fire that burns all creation to ash. I'm next in line to rule and in the eyes of my people I am an abomination. So I will keep my soul secret and keep it safe, because right now it will be taken as weakness."

It was the first time he got a straight answer from her. It wasn't unexpected this was her reasoning. After all the Sidhe were nobility for a reason. There was something coldly flawless about their unattainable perfection.

"So all this is about proving something?"

"In addition to being a preemptive strike against all of our destruction," Aurora admitted easily. "When my secret comes to light the people will see that I haven't lost my strength when I display my father's bones above the Summer throne."

Of course she had ulterior motives. Harry stared at her. "Having a soul doesn't make you weak. You don't have to prove you haven't lost your edge."

"Oh, but I do," she replied. "The Courts weren't established by flowers and rainbows. We built our dominion in the Nevernever through conquest and treachery. Some will expect my soul to be the downfall of all we have built. A curse on my line that will lead them to their bitter end. I'll show them differently, and their redemption will come in the golden path I plan to set for the Summer Court. A new era is dawning, dear husband. Are you ready?"

There was fire in her voice and he could read her resolve in the shape of her mouth and the tension in her shoulders. She meant every word. _She means to start a revolution. _Harry had thought those anarchist days of hers ended with the Faerie War weeks ago, but it was more like her focus had just _shifted_.

"You aren't going to try to end the world again, are you?" He looked at her closely, not reassured by her put out look.

"I'm talking about greatness, Harry Potter," said Aurora without looking away. "We will crush my father and his faction and then we will stand as tall as titans. Our reign will be legendary."

"Our reign?"

A sharp smile broke across her face. "You will be my king. You're my husband, no?"

"Putting aside your rather scary Machiavellian schemes of the future, let's try to focus on the present." He said it more for his benefit than hers. He wasn't ready to dive into the grand plan she had cooked up. Although eventually he would have to, somebody had to keep her scheming in check or she would find some way to pull him in anyway.

She faced the pool again. "How did everything go?"

Harry withdrew his original wand from the pocket of his slacks. He was dialing back on using the White Wand these days. After Aurora's warning he was careful with Mother Summer's gift. The power of the wand couldn't be denied, but he didn't know what the catch was. He wouldn't forget the look on Aurora's face when she saw the stick. It hadn't been outright fear, but close to it, like apprehension.

The waters stirred when the wand arced through the air. Shapes rose up from the water and solidified into a tall man with aquiline features, high cheekbones and a pointed chin with a shadow of a beard. He was handsome, but there was something forbidding about his narrowed eyes. The water construct was superbly lifelike even if it lacked the true color of cloth and flesh.

"Thorned Namshiel," Harry named the simulacrum. "I followed the demon for three days—"

"He's not just a demon," Aurora interjected, appraising the projection. "The Denarians are unions of a human host and one of the Fallen. They're the greatest foes that oppose your friend Michael's knightly order. There are thirty such fallen angels, cast into exile and each bound to a silver Roman denarius."

Harry's head snapped to her. "Angels?"

"Fallen angels," she repeated. "Imprisonment's the price they paid for following their big brother to war. I suppose it saves the Morningstar trouble of keeping them in check in perdition. In any case, it was before my time and what's done is done. Our enemy has many faces and this one is most deadly. The Order of the Blackened Denarius isn't to be taken lightly. They're powerful as they are cunning."

"I thought Denarians were just demons, good to know." And it was. He had put so much effort into learning ways out of this world that he hadn't expended the same energy learning about the world itself. That was a mistake he was going to fix. You can't escape a cage until you know everything about it. "Well, I followed the Fallen for three days and let me say, bloke gets around. He has a thing for brunette hookers and drinks far too much Jameson."

"We're fortunate hellfire was used during my father's breakout. I spent considerable resources tracking its user, dear husband. Please tell me you discovered something relevant?"

Another shape rose from the pool and formed into a man with slicked back hair. His mouth was formed into a small smirk at home on his handsome face. His suit fit his broad shoulders superbly and there was something well put together about the simulacrum that made the figure project a sense of wealth.

"The details aren't crucial, but Namshiel eventually met with this guy," said Harry, nodding to the newest projection. "I did some digging and he's Duke Paolo Ortega, warlord of the Red Court."

Her smile turned satisfied. "It's just like we thought. My father's allies will lead us right to him."

"It's going to be harder than that. We now know another member, but there are still the faceless ones we haven't tagged yet. We have no idea about leaders of this organization or numbers or if they operate in cells. Knowing another face isn't really a break in the case, Nancy Drew."

"I assume that was one of your amusing pop culture references," Aurora noted blandly.

"And wasted on you. I really should save them for Dresden," he replied with a slight smile. He waved at the water projection to get back on track. "They were speaking a dead language I can't begin to guess at. But two words didn't translate however: Chicago and Dresden."

A pensive expression settled across her face. "Interesting. That I wasn't expecting. I suppose they would take an interest in him given, his mother and her ties."

"So because she has information on them you think they're gunning for him?"

Her thoughtful expression faded with the question. "The only one who knows for sure is Margaret Dresden." Inhuman eyes locked on a pair of green. "Come. Let us see how our guest is doing."

Harry followed her out and they made their way through the castle. It was no wonder the island was once Oberon's original seat before his imprisonment. The castle was a thing of beauty crafted by dwarfs years before Aurora was even born. Margaret would be found in the Scathing Moon Tower, the tallest structure that stood at the corner of Fyrethroat's central keep.

Harry found his mind wandering during their walk. Not for the first time he wondered if they were doing the right thing by not telling Dresden about finding his mom. It had been Harry's decision, wanting to spare the older man the dash of joy of reuniting with his parent only to find her batshit insane. Harry wasn't an expert at the mind arts, but he was hoping he could do _something_—anything—to help her. Dresden deserved a bit of happiness.

Harry hadn't seen him in a few weeks. Chicago had felt the fallout of Titania and Mab going head up. The city was still recovering from the ravaging of the sudden and fierce tropical storm. Dresden's office was one of many utterly destroyed by the devastating tornado that tore through midtown like tissue paper. Elaine was being a good friend to him, while Harry had been living on take-out as he staked out a horny Fallen angel from the back of a rental van.

"Say we get a plan together and key intel," began Harry as they passed before a row of tall arched windows with an awesome view of the lake beyond, surrounded by a forest full of burnt orange leaves. "Do you think we have a shot of killing Oberon? This is the guy who killed Merlin. He's no lightweight."

"Rogue," Aurora said simply, then frowned deeply. "Very true. He won't be killed easily."

"The way you say it, the way all of you say that word—" He shook his head. "I still don't completely understand what it means."

A small bitter smile found its way onto her face. "My parents union was a political one. Mother was a new queen, and in Father was the blood of kings. He was the last of the Daione Sidhe."

"Daione Sidhe?" Harry asked.

"Dagda, Lir, Ogma and others were the High Sidhe. The Tuatha Dynasty."

"Tuatha Dynasty?" he asked again.

Aurora nodded and looked troubled. "They ruled Faerie before the Courts of Winter and Summer. Their reign is over and now they're all gone. Banished to the Outside or killed, it's a story for another time." Their steps were silent as they meandered through the galley and the inner and outer walls. "Oberon was a beloved king, some would say great. I believe that greatness and madness are but two sides of the same coin."

_I think we must expect great things from you, Mr. Potter... After all, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things — terrible, yes, but great. _Years later and the memory was clear as ever, and he found himself agreeing.

Harry looked at her pointedly. "What happened?"

"He began to hear things. Sometimes he would talk to himself and was quick to paranoia. The Summer power he shared with mother ignited a dormant Daione Sidhe trait of genetic memory that he couldn't control. It grew into a psychological instability. He became possessed with an inner multitude of ego-memories." She gestured at the crystal walls. "He retreated here to Fyrethroat and waged his cleansing war to annihilate the lowborn: the fairies, sprites, goblins, elves and whoever else not Sidhe."

Harry averted his eyes and muttered, "I know the type."

"He swept across Faerie like a storm and they called him the Rogue King. Mab delighted in the whole thing, so Winter didn't lift a finger. At last, he was defeated by Titania at Spring's End when they dueled in single combat."

"And she didn't kill him because of their marriage," Harry supplied with barely a smile. "Neither can die by the other's hand. Like us."

Aurora nodded. "You see the truth of it now. That, dear husband, is what a rogue is and why the very word is one of scorn and distrust."

They ascended the turnpike stairs of Scathing Moon Tower. It was a slender structure with six stories and the top was given over to the apartments where Margret Dresden was kept. The rooms were spacious with whitewashed stone walls and windows that overlooked the outer walls to the clear sea beyond. The chair that faced the window was empty today.

Margaret's giggling came from the foot of the sofa and she stared up at them with glassy dark eyes when they entered. "All the pretty stars and all the children dance and dance, and fall and die. Teardrops, can you tell me my name," she dabbed at the tear coursing down her cheek and licked it, and then grimaced. "Chronos don't ask me how, it will drip and echo and go beyond the whirlpool of lightning. Repeat, repeat, repeat."

"That was lovely," Aurora declared, clapping her hands. "I do so love poetry."

Harry arched an eyebrow. "Really, Aurora?"

She looked at him with bright eyes and a pretty smile. "I thought you liked when I was nice."

"Believe I said sincere, but whatever," he returned, ignoring the laughter that followed. "Hello, Margaret. How are you?"

She didn't acknowledge the greeting. She never did. Harry took a seat on the floor next to her, carefully crossing his legs. There was safe distance between them, because he was still wary of getting his eyes clawed out again. Aurora took the seat by the window holding them with a curious stare.

"Do you really think she will eventually recover her mind?"

Harry shrugged. "The mental disciplines were never my area of expertise. A near death experience on top of a cursed transfiguration for over two decades… well, you see the results. I'm guessing on how to heal her, really. But I can't think of anything else that could fix this damage."

"Very well," she said with little emotion. "I hope she lives up to her reputation. I'm starting to regret rescuing someone so useless."

Harry blinked. "That soul definitely didn't give you a heart."

"So sensitive," Aurora stated with the slightest huff. "You'll be singing a different tune when the Lenansidhe figures out who orchestrated the kidnapping of her favorite pet."

"She'll be coming after you, not me," Harry reminded her. "I had no part in the breakout."

"Us." Feline eyes gleamed as a wicked smirk manifested her mirth. "She will come after both of us. Have you forgotten we're in this together?"

"You would sell me out?"

Aurora gasped throwing a hand over her heart. "You think so little of me?" she asked, wounded.

"You are lovely," he deadpanned. He shook his head in dismay when her face lit up because seriously, again? "Sweet magic, Aurora. Please try and learn sarcasm. You're killing me."

She folded her arms across her chest. "I can't kill you and for that you are lucky."

"I love when you talk dirty to me." Harry pulled out his wand and Aurora's entire body tensed up. He rolled his eyes, sighing. "Calm down, twitchy. It's not even pointed at you."

Harry faced Margaret with the wand across his lap. He sent her a piercing stare and her mouth opened in a soundless cry when he nonverbally cast _Legilimens_, and then he was delving deep down into those dark eyes like an open mind isn't a book to be read at whim. It is a complex labyrinth of many layers stacked with emotions and thoughts and memories given leases. Experience shapes someone and everyone's mind is different. It was a skilled Legilimens that could read it, control it, and unhinge it.

Margaret's mindscape was a forest filled with impossibly tall trees eclipsed by a stormy sky, and it was raining. It was always raining. Harry flipped the collar of the navy rain jacket that manifested when he appeared. There was no path to follow, but he knew where he was going. He made his way through the forest careful to mind his step, since the last time he was here the ground had given way and swallowed him up in a void of darkness filled with mad, horrifying cackling.

The Glass Lake was what Harry called the great body of water that sat in the middle of the forest. The water was so clear that you could easily see deep down to the very bottom. It was more like a sheet of glass than water. In the middle of the lake, floating on her back and completely nude was Margaret Dresden. Her long black hair haloed around her head and Harry had to marvel at how utterly serene she looked. It was a tranquility that she lacked in reality. Water covered her pale skin and her face was smoothed of the perpetual scowl.

Harry kneeled down at the lakeside frowning at the clear water. His reflection didn't appear. Memories should have played across every square inch of the surface like a collage of neverending videos. Harry waved his wand over the lake murmuring a healing spell. Slowly but surely an image started to form. It was a boy. He was about five and dark haired and had the lightest pair of blue-grey eyes. There was something almost familiar about his face. Harry stared closer and the water gave a sudden violent ripple. The image fell apart as the water reverted to its pristine state.

"Great," Harry muttered, standing up. "Every time."

No matter how much power he poured into his healing spells it never seemed to take. Was this what the Healers at St. Mungos dealt with when dealing with the Cruciatus Curse victims? Once their minds were shattered they were gone. No treatment had been found, so nothing could bring them back. Harry could try, but really he was shooting in the dark here.

He inhaled deeply and closed his eyes. When he opened them he was sitting in the room again and facing Margaret on the floor. There was an ache in his knees from sitting cross legged for a long time. Harry looked over to Aurora to see her peering back at him, eyes gleaming in speculation.

"Progress?"

Harry looked at Margaret's unchanged blank face and then back at Aurora, tilting his head. "Be more perceptive. I dare you."

There was movement out of the corner of his eye and Margaret lurched forward. She grabbed Harry's arms in a painful grip. Her long fingernails dug into his forearms drawing blood. Harry winced as Margaret's stare pierced him with a focus that he'd never seen. She opened her mouth and her words almost stopped his heart.

"Blood, blood, blood. My blood. Your blood. His blood. One, two, three, again two, back into one."

The color drained from Harry's face turning him sickly pale. He wrenched his arms away and Margaret fell back hard. She giggled and stared blissfully up at the ceiling with a vacant stare. Aurora was next to Harry with inhuman speed. She laid a hand on his shoulder wearing a genuine look of concern. Harry jumped to his feet stumbling back on shaky legs, his mind racing.

"Harry?" Aurora asked, staring at Margaret with the slightest edge of dark anger. "What was that?"

"How did she know?" He was completely frantic, so the words came out Firebolt fast.

Aurora grabbed his wrist. "You know what that means, don't you? What she said."

"I've heard it before," he replied, distracted. His thoughts were going too fast for him to grasp.

"Tell me," she pressed.

His hands ran through his hair, eyebrows furrowed together. "It was years ago. I completely forgot—I thought it could be prophecy, but it never came to pass."

"The same prophecy made by two different people years apart. Impossible."

"Not quite so." Harry wasn't sure about impossible, since it obviously just freaking happened. The odds though were astronomically long.

Aurora stared levelly at him. "Who made it?"

"I… He…" Harry lapsed into confused silence, staring at his unlikely spouse. Finally, he was able to rationalize his thoughts coherently. "My little brother."

Aiden had spoken those same words a little over three years ago. Had he seen this moment happening and foretold Margaret's words, or had Margaret seen Aiden's own prophecy somewhere? A possibility was she could have seen the words in Harry's memories somehow, but his mind was locked up tight. His strength was in Occlumency rather than Legilimency, and he would've felt the intrusion. There were too many variables here. Yet the common denominator was the prophecy spoken by two people, a common link across time and space.

Harry held the woman on the floor with a thoughtful stare. "I'm getting to the bottom of this."

"Does this mean I get to the meet the in-laws?" Aurora looked like she was barely repressing a smile.

"No!"

She pouted and looked at him through her lashes. "Why not? Are you ashamed of me?"

This was so not happening. Maybe he was hallucinating. He was dangerously close to hexing the pout off her face. "We both know that's not an option. You—you're not even serious. Come on!"

Harry stared at his wife, who stared back unperturbed. She crossed her arms. "Don't you want me to meet your family with your supervision?" She took a step closer and managed a coy shrug. "If you want me to meet them on my own, well I suppose I'm open to that."

His mouth fell open with surprise. _Such a Slytherin._

* * *

The scowl on his face might as well have been painted on. Harry looked over his shoulder and cleared his throat. Aurora blinked innocently back at him. Her face was a hairs breath away from his. If he inhaled deep enough they would be kissing. He flushed and scooted forward a bit on the porch. Magic help him, he hoped it was dark enough out here that she didn't see.

"What a lovely neighborhood," she said instead of a teasing comment, glancing around the row of houses sitting quietly in the night.

Harry rolled his eyes. If he wasn't positive she was a super megalomaniac he would think Aurora was a naughty tease. She was constantly plotting and telling two truths and one lie. But there was the other part of her that was flirty and smiling with a laugh that could melt hearts.

"Remind me why you're all in black," he said, sweeping his eyes over her black leather pants and cashmere top.

Aurora did a little twirl. "You don't like?"

"I told you before. Technically we're not breaking in. My parents are asleep so we're just going to talk to my brother and then we're off. No need to turn this into a thing." He gave her a hard stare. "You promised."

She nodded and made a cross above her heart. "We had an agreement, dear husband. I will honor it because I'm very intrigued to meet this brother."

There was no way in hell he was voluntarily allowing Aurora to meet his parents. Getting her to agree to them sneaking into the Potter home in the dead of night was a struggle. He knew she just wanted to scoop out his parents to get the measure of them. There was a special place in her mind that she devoted to him. Anything and everything related to Harry Potter and the mysteries that surrounded him went into it. He would be a fool not to see the sudden sharpness in her eye with each new tidbit she learned about him.

_"Alohomora!"_

The door unlock turned with a satisfying click. Harry slipped his wand back into his front pocket. He looked at Aurora and held his finger up to his lips.

"Remember, quiet."

A look of clear amusement was her reply and she brushed past him and into the house. Harry entered behind her taking stock of the dimly lit foyer. A table lamp in the living room to the left was still lit throwing shadows and muted light into the hall. His mom or dad usually left it on for Aiden in case he wandered down at night. Harry took a deep breath barely holding back a small smile. It was weird but the place even smelled the same. It was oddly comforting.

Harry pointed a finger at the ceiling and then mimed walking up a staircase with his fingers. Aurora stared at him like he was a moron. He wanted to give her the finger but she might scream or something else unpredictable and wake his parents out of spite. She was vindictive like that.

They second floor was equally as quiet and Aiden's room was next to Harry's old one. He cast a long look at his parents' bedroom door. Aurora hovered at his side staring at the pictures framed to the wall. He hadn't noticed before but Aurora was actually pretty good at the stealth. Her footsteps didn't make a sound and her movements were a fluid grace that was kind of sexy.

Oh bloody hell. He shook his head. Bugger that, he was not going there.

This way, he mouthed silently, and opened the door to Aiden's room. The nightlight below the window was one of those multicolored ones that switched colors every few seconds. Harry closed the door behind them and casted a Silencing Charm.

"All clear. We're free to talk," he said, striding over to the lump on the bed. Aiden was covered head to foot under the blanket. "Hey, little man. Ai—"

Harry lifted the blanket only to find a lump of carefully arranged pillows. There was a moment of confusion broken as Aurora let out a rolling laugh. She shrugged at Harry's glare. "What?"

The closet door opened a crack and Harry turned when it swung open all the way. A blur short forward and he got an armful of Aiden. He stumbled back into the bed and was greeted with twinkling hazel eyes.

"I saw someone was coming. I didn't know it was you," Aiden said, peering up at him, smiling brightly. He pulled his bangs out of his face.

"You saw me?" Harry asked after a beat he hoped Aiden didn't notice. "You mean you saw the future?"

"It's not clear all the time. Fuzzy, kinda," he replied, jutting out his bottom lip. "And dark."

He glanced at Aurora and shyly turned his face into Harry's side when she smiled back. It was kind of adorable. Harry ruffled his hair and helped him stand, so they weren't half sprawled on the bed. Aiden hopped up and landed on one foot, throwing his arms out to the side to balance himself.

"Aiden this is—"

"Sister," he broke in. He looked up at her through his bangs. "Your wife."

Aurora's smile was bright and Harry was startled at the realness of it. She dropped down to a knee and poked Aiden in the cheek with her finger. "You are absolutely terrific."

Aiden fought a bashful smile, and Harry couldn't quite control his own. It was a terribly lovely sight to see Aiden trying to resist, his dimples starting to dip into his cheeks as he tamped down the edges of the rebellious grin. Harry found the whole thing too bloody adorable. It was all he could do to stop himself from wrapping Aiden up in a hug and pinching his cheeks. He missed this weird kid. He missed his family.

Harry touched Aiden's shoulder. "You know Aurora?"

"I've seen her before. A bunch of times." His cheeks flushed pink. He pulled the long sleeves of his pajama shirt over his hands, little fingers peeking out and curling over the cuffs. "I drew her on your birthday when I was little."

Harry's mind hurtled back to his twenty first birthday. He remembered two stick figures drawn in a childish hand. One had been of him that much had been clear even then. The other, the woman holding his hand, had been a mystery. He remembered crayon yellow hair with the sun looming behind her. Harry tore his scrutinizing gaze from Aurora finally seeing it. He looked at Aiden like he was some kind of miracle because his little brother foretold his marriage in a picture drawn in crayon.

Harry pulled in a deep, slow breath. "Unbelievable."

"Yes, it's quite remarkable."

Green eyes found a similar colored pair with cat-slit pupils. _Don't even think about it._He found himself gripped by the simultaneous urges to pull his brother behind him and curse her on the spot. Aurora simply shrugged in return.

Aiden bounced on the balls of his feet a little. "You're here because of your sick friend, right?"

Husband and wife traded glances. Harry looked at him uncertainly. "You know about Margaret?"

"She's sick up here," Aiden replied, touching his head. "I see it. She's so sad."

"How do you know that?" asked Harry.

"The way you used to know before you got lost," he said, fingers tightening around the hem of his shirt. "You don't see."

Harry glanced at Aurora. He didn't like admitting stuff about himself when she was around. Screw it. He was already in too far. "I've seen things before, I think. Dreams, visions, and threads of… fate?"

Aiden blew out a breath. "But you don't see," he replied, exasperated.

Small hands found Harry's and held on tight. There was a great twisting feeling as up and down became one and the bottom dropped out from his world. Every sense Harry possessed filled with a foreign sense of energy as his entire world became extraordinary. Cords of silver light tinged with green touched every part of his body and stretched off into space and beyond. Harry's hand reached out to touch—

Undead zombies' numbers grew with each flash of lightning. They spread like a swarm through the campus grounds. Flashes of light lit the night sky and it wasn't the lightning. Bursts of magic slung forward from a small squad of gray cloaked wizards—Wardens. And fire speared the night in a solid white beam of death cutting through the front ranks of undead like butter. The attacker was Harry, but not as he was now. He was wearing crysteel armor with the fiery symbol of Summer over the heart. Gouts of flames roared to life again, and he realized it was Summer fire as he watched himself wielding the White Wand with merciless precision.

He didn't have time to ponder the scene of himself working with Wardens when the ground trembled. A gigantic foot fell from the sky and crushed a sizable number of zombies. Its owner was as long as a city bus, grey, and a bloody Tyrannosaurus Rex. Where its neck and body met was a saddle.

The T-Rex's rider was clad in grey like the other Wardens. Harry Dresden shot a smirk down at the Summer Lord who returned it with a one fingered salute. Dresden kicked his heels and rode his colossal dinosaur into the fray and all hell broke loose.

The world became fire and noise and Harry snapped back to the present with a sharp inhale. His thoughts whirled about. He wasn't panicked, but his heart was beating triple time. It felt like he stopped breathing and maybe he had and hadn't known it. That couldn't have been the future. Zombies, okay he could deal with that. Inferi were undead, too. A future version of himself decked out in fae armor. Sure, whatever. But Harry fucking Dresden riding a T-Rex like a mustang was too much. It made less and less sense the more it progressed. He shook his head, not wanting to get into the sheer logistics of it all.

"You're something else," Harry said between breaths. "How did you do that?"

"I dunno. It just kind of happens," said Aiden with that easy way kids have.

Whatever was going on with the two brothers, the power they shared, Aiden had a natural affinity for it. He was talented and would make a powerful wizard if he went through training. The Potter brothers were special. If and how that connected to how he got here, Harry was going to find out.

"Simply remarkable," Aurora murmured, observing them with keen eyes.

Aiden rocked up on the balls of his feet and held out his hand. "You need to help your friend. Blood will make her smile again."

"Blood?"

"My blood, your blood, her blood."

Harry frowned at the words. "She needs our blood to heal her?"

Aiden just nodded.

"Blood is potent fuel for spellcrafting. Always has been. It's power of life itself." Aurora hummed under her breath. She took a seat on the edge of the bed. "There's something special about your bloodline. Something very old that I do not know."

Harry snorted. "Tell me about it."

Getting the blood from Aiden was a simple enough affair. He felt bad the entire time putting the Numbing Charm on his little brother and extracting blood from a cut to his hand. Aurora handed him a lollipop that she pulled from thin air, while Harry put the stopper on the blood vial. Not on his watch. Harry cast a non-verbal Switching Charm to replace it with his own conjured candy. Aurora pouted at his disapproving frown.

"It was normal human candy I promise," Aurora said with a sigh. "You, husband dear, have trust issues."

"Gee, I wonder why," he ground out through clenched teeth. He rubbed his eye to stop the twitching.

Aurora tossed her hair over her shoulder. "Typical."

Harry rolled his eyes. He slipped the vial of blood into his pocket and clapped his hands. "Alright, little guy. I think its past your bedtime."

Aiden let out a squeal of delighted laughter as Harry tickled him under his arms. He picked the boy up and tossed him into bed. Aiden grinned up at him out of breath and happy as Harry tucked him in tight. He slipped his fingers through Aiden's hair and smiled down at him softly.

"Sleep well, little brother."

He was already yawning when he nodded. He wrapped his fingers around Harry's wrist. "Be careful okay?"

"Always. Now go to sleep." Harry tapped his nose.

They stood over the bed for a moment as Aiden's eyes fluttered closed. His breath evened out as sleep quickly took him. Aurora placed a hand over her heart. "He's precious. I want—"

"Nope," Harry broke in, heading to the door. "Don't even go there."

They stepped into the hall and Harry gently closed the door behind them. Light flooded the hallway suddenly, and they froze. Harry turned around with Aurora beside him. At the end of the hall stood James and Lily Potter and their eyes held an unreadable mixture of emotions, the most prevalent being shock. He waved weakly at his parents.

"Hi, … Mum, Dad."

"Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Potter." Aurora stepped forward with a disarming smile. "It's such a pleasure to finally meet my husband's parents."

Harry slapped a hand over his face and hung his head. Bloody hell.

* * *

**Author's Notes**; For reference Aiden's prophecy and drawing are in chapters 4 and 6 respectively.


	23. The Daughter

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter either. It belongs to its creator J.K. Rowling and probably Warner Bros. too. I'm not too sure about that. This piece of literature is simply the work of a humble fan. I also credit Jim Butcher for various themes, subjects, or references that I may use.

Author Notes: This is a Harry Potter crossover with the Dresden Files the book series. All my knowledge of the Dresden Files comes from the books. I've never seen the TV series. For the timeline that will be stated later. Thanks to the folks at DLP for help with editing.

* * *

**Awaken Sleeper.  
**Chapter Twenty Two: The Daughter  
by: Water Mage

"Well this is a lovely evening," Harry said, looking at his mother with a weak smile.

Lily stared at him for a long moment before sitting back further on the couch to include his wife in her inspection. His mother didn't look impressed. She took the fine china tea glass in hand, gently blowing the steam away and sipped. "I disagree," she said.

Silence hung between them. It was awkward sitting there in the living room, waiting on his father, and time stretched on without a word spoken before Aurora finally spoke up. "You have a lovely home, Mrs. Potter."

_Oh, you have got to be kidding._ Harry slowly turned his whole head to stare and he was aware the expression on his face was more disbelieving than incredulous. As hard as he might, he couldn't wipe it away because bloody bleeding hell, Aurora was smiling and trying to be _charming_, and really it was just all too much to take.

Lily didn't smile back. "Thank you."

Harry cleared his throat, searching for _anything _to diffuse the tension. "So, how have you been?"'

"We were doing just fine until you two broke in here," James answered instead, entering the room. He sat in the empty space next to his wife and said, "I put Aiden back to bed." Then he turned to the intruders. "Answers would be appropriate now. And please, Summer Lady could you drop the veil. I would rather see your true face when speaking to you."

The shadow of surprise flashed across her eyes and she bowed her head toward him. The human glamour she'd been wearing fell and blonde hair cleared out to Sidhe white, and her whole body seemed leaner as fingers and limbs grew slightly longer. Green eyes turned inhumanly bright and her pupils changed in one blink from round mortal orbs to feline lengths. Rosy lips turned up into a faint smile.

"How did you know?" she murmured. Just the sound of her real voice made the room feel warmer.

"Believe it or not we've known about the two of you for some time." Lily's tone was brisk and matter-of-fact. She regarded Harry's astonished face, her eyes sharp. "And after the Faerie War everyone knows now, too."

Then Aurora did something that made Harry's fingers twitch toward his wand. She laughed. A delightful sound reminiscent of two little ringing bells. "Of course my husband wouldn't have mundane parents. No. That would be terribly improper."

"You don't know. He didn't tell you." James leaned forward and there was something resembling satisfaction in his tone.

Harry crossed his arms. "That would defeat the point of a family secret. Can't go off tattling to everyone now can I?"

The expression drained from Aurora's face leaving her features distant and lovely, perfectly and utterly blank. Empty of all emotion. Gone was the pretense of humanity. Soul or not she was Sidhe, Queen of Summer, supreme of the fae. Her inhuman stare was for the Potters and them alone. Harry recognized it for what it was. She was curious. Bugger it all.

"You aren't White Council," she said, watching them with bright eyes. Then her stare fell on the identical platinum rings both were wearing. "Venatori Umbrorum, 'The Hunters of Shadows'. It's been many years since I've spoken to a Venator. Tell me how goes the Oblivion War."

"I don't know what you're talking about," said James with a bitingly fake smile.

Aurora smiled and Harry realized that was just the opening she was looking for. "Let me remind you. Your group has been fighting a war for more than five thousand years against the old gods and demons of Before. Shutting them away and banishing them into eternal wander; forever lost outside the mortal world and unable to do harm. Out of sight, out of mind, and consigned to Oblivion."

Harry frowned. "I've never heard—"

"Don't!" James said, addressing Harry for the first time in a long time without anger. Harry was so startled that the words died on his lips. James' stare was imploring. "Clear your mind. Focus on your own breathing. This is very important right now. Knowing any of this creates a sort of resonance in your mind, and if someone knows to look for it, they can see it."

They were talking about primal spiritual entities. These were beings that couldn't be destroyed. Dispersed yes, but over time they would reform—these thoughts raced all at once through his mind as he recognized the urgency—_but you could forget them_. Occlumency had never felt this useful in years. He took two deep breaths and his thoughts were shielded and locked up tight.

Lily placed her teacup on the saucer and leaned back on the sofa. She regarded Aurora with a long even look. "The war is a classified secret of our organization. How you even know of it speaks of a security breach and can even be taken as a violation of the Unseelie Accords. We might not have the magical muscle of the White Council, but the Venatori are a power not to be trifled with."

Aurora's cat-eyes glittered as she laughed, warm sunshine and twinkling bells, and it made Harry shiver. "Was that a threat?" Her smile fell and turned small, haughty. A bit of her true self peeking through. "I don't respond to threats. I make them."

"I feel like we might've gotten off on the wrong foot. For that I apologize." Lily's green eyes weren't as bright as Aurora's, but they were still the extraordinary color that people complimented and right now they were darker than Harry had ever seen. "But you're in my home, and you will respect that. For the record there would be no question if I was threatening you. You would know it." She brought her arm up revealing the pistol she'd been concealing with the sleeves of her dressing robe. "Your kind doesn't do well with iron, right?" she said, low and dangerous. "_Now _I'm threatening you."

_"Mum!" _Harry shouted, and in one smooth stroke the pistol was transfigured into a tulip. "Let's all just calm down."

Lily dropped the flower and reached for her teacup again. "I finished what I had to say."

"Oh, I _like _you," said Aurora, regarding her with glittering eyes.

James stared at her, stone faced. "That was a guess, wasn't it? You didn't know we knew about the war. You read me."

"You saw my true face and I wanted to see yours. And Harry's knowledge won't bind anything to this world. He's technically not even from this universe now is he?"

"What's wrong with you," Harry snapped, glowering. "What was that about?"

"Such fire. Such strength. Yes." Aurora glanced at him. "I can see where you get it all now."

Harry narrowed his eyes. "Are you satisfied?"

"I am. Strength and passion are strong in your family. Future generations will surely inherit those qualities. Our children will be a force to be reckoned with."

What.

He blanched and hurriedly assured his parents, "She's just joking. Always kidding, this one here."

"You're blushing, Harry," Lily pointed out, looking at him over the rim of her cup. "The Venatori tried to rid the world of the faeries. Obviously we failed. They still hold a grudge."

He rubbed his cheeks hard and sighed. He didn't acknowledge the smirk Aurora wore. Even if he wanted to hex it off her face. Getting him riled up was turning into her favorite hobby. He was going to start retaliating. Aurora's eyes shined, pleasure showing for a moment, warm and full of promise. Was she—no, she was not _flirting _with him in front of his parents for Circe's sake. He wasn't the innocent schoolboy he used to be, but there were _boundaries_.

James cleared his throat. "I know not answering direct questions is the party line in the Summer Court, but we do things differently in the mortal world. Why are you two here?"

He shrugged. "We never got a wedding gift. So we came to collect."

"Harry, please," said Lily with a sigh.

If he hadn't been thinking of how to answer this question for the last twenty minutes he would have drowned in his floundering. Anyway, he still floundered but it wasn't the epic struggle for a coherent answer it could've been. Harry pinched the bridge of his nose.

"It's kind of a long story."

James' stubborn look was eerily identical to the one Harry often wore. "I don't believe we're going anywhere."

Harry mirrored his expression. "I have my own questions. How long have you two known about us; and what do you mean everyone knows now?"

"Information gathering is a specialty of ours, and you haven't been discreet with your dealings with the Summer Court," said Lily with a shrug. "When the Queens fought every practitioner, seer and sensitive felt the effects. With a fourth of Chicago destroyed answers were needed. I imagine every supernatural power on the planet has heard about what took place above Chicago."

Damn it. Another mess he had to worry about. With the Jade King hiding in the shadows it was only a matter of time before the White Council came sniffing around. Wankers thought they ran the show on mortal magic. Okay, one thing at a time.

"I see," he said out loud, lips set in a thin line.

Aurora looked at him, her eyes calm. "We will deal with that when the time comes."

How did she— Harry shook his head. He must be getting easy to read. He reinforced his Occlumency barriers just in case. "Okay, it's like this; over three years ago Aiden told me something. It was a prophecy that I never told another living soul. But nine hours ago I heard the same prophecy uttered by someone else, word for word. Something that should be theoretically impossible. I came for answers. That's why I'm here."

Lily shared a stricken glance with James. "Harry, are you sure?"

"I wish I wasn't. I hate having him involved, but he is."

James shook his head. "You can run the numbers all day, but the probabilities of two prophecies made by two different people are so insanely low that it's laughable."

"Be that as it may it happened," said Harry. He ran a hand through his hair. "I needed him to help me figure out _why_."

"But he's just a boy," said Lily, aghast.

"Aiden's plugged into something greater than all of us. He has control of an ability that I don't even have a name for. It's like divination but more complex. I can't even grasp how he does it. It's like second nature for him. I can do the same to an extent, but nothing on his level. I suspect it may have something to do with why he wouldn't speak when he was younger. It's just a theory based on his power, but I think—he was living multiple lives at once."

James' frown made him look years older, weary almost. "That doesn't make any sense."

Harry shrugged. "It's just a theory. I've never heard of abilities quite like this before. We both can do it, so it's obliviously genetic. Maybe something passed down."

Aurora looked at his parents, her stare pensive. "Bloodline talents are not so unusual for particular mortals, but its sheer scope makes this a peculiar trait. A very powerful one."

Harry closed his eyes for a moment and nodded. "I've been over it so many times, but it always comes back to that. We got the ability from someone in our family. Reckon from an ancestor. I need to know who. This is key—"

_To figuring out how he got here._

James studied him intently. "What will you do with that information? What then?"

"If I knew where this ability came from, I don't know, maybe I can get a clue on what in the hell happened to me—to your Harrison. If I can't get back home, then. I don't know. We all need closure."

"I think. I would like that," Lily said quietly. Her eyes shined wetly.

Harry turned his stare to the ground. His ears felt hot and he managed a shy smile. Crying women always made him feel uncomfortable and awkward, like something hot was building underneath his skin and turning his senses hypersensitive. Petunia Dursley hadn't been one for tears. Hers and especially his own.

"I'll do some digging and get you what I can," James offered.

The cordial tone made his brain short circuit. "You're being unusually civil to me. Especially considering the last time we spoke you said you would kill me. And also, can we talk about you and Mum's love for homicide? It's a bit much."

"The irony in that is delightful," Aurora murmured, her voice low, sweet.

He rolled his eyes. "You're a breathing irony."

There was an unreadable expression on James face that Harry couldn't decipher. When he did answer the question his voice wasn't warm, but it wasn't the chilly tone he was used to hearing. "Everyone knows you were up there in the thick of the Faerie War. The Knight of the Cross, a wizard, some teen wolves and you saved the world. You might not be Harrison, but. I mean, shit," James sighed and wiped a hand down his face. "What I mean is, I can appreciate you doing good in his name."

Something loosened in his chest, some long buried ache he righteously ignored. He really didn't care about making his parents proud. That bridge had long since burned. But having their love was the Mirror of Erised's truthful reflection of his heart then and now.

"I'm not going to apologize for the past—" James started.

Harry snorted. "The moment just jumped straight out the window."

His father sighed. "But I'll try not to be a dick from now on. Happy?"

"Immensely." Harry smiled slyly. "So do we hug it out? Cool jock pat on the back style."

James leveled a flat glare at him. "Don't push it."

"So I'll be by for holidays, yeah?" Harry grinned at his Mum, ignoring James twitching eye.

They had a good laugh as they got up to hug, minus his Dad of course. James settled for a nod. Aurora stepped in to hug Lily, too, and his Mum froze. They all did.

Aurora blinked innocently and Harry saw right through it. She tilted her head. "Is it too soon?"

"Is she serious?" Lily stared at Harry.

"Ignore her. I do it all the time."

"For that it's only my generosity that you still draw breath," said Aurora smoothly.

"She's kidding this time, I swear," Harry assured her, smiling weakly. She really was. This kind of talk was the Sidhe version of foreplay. _That _he wasn't telling his parents however.

Aurora smiled and it was as breathtaking as the sunrise. "I had a wonderful time. I do hope we can do this again, Mom and Dad."

She was _insane_.

Harry grabbed her arm and couldn't even lift his eyes to read his parents expressions before he was twisting on the spot and disapparating.

.-.

Harry walked around his loft turning on lights while ignoring Aurora as she peered around with undisguised curiosity. Apparating here was second nature, and it was a good thing too because there were supplies he actually needed to get. Using blood in magic was _heavily_ frowned upon by the Ministry, but that didn't mean it wasn't done. The Ancient and Noble families loved their old and obscure magics. The whole thing gave them an underserviced sense of superiority that _their_ ancestors had left them super mystic arts that muggleborns would never have access to. The Black family library had been full of the stuff. The journals of Sirius's great-great-grandfather Phineas Nigellus in particular made for very interesting but dark reading. Obsessed with blood, the lot of them.

"You had too much fun with that didn't you?" asked Harry, shedding his oxford leaving him in an undershirt.

Aurora rolled her lower lip between her teeth and looked up at him through her lashes. "You always think the worst of me."

"You went to a crummy acting school. You know that, don't you?"

"Do you expect me to answer that clearly rhetorical question."

Harry paused. "Are we bantering? Is that what's happening now?" He made a face and muttered, "That's how Ron and Hermione started off."

"Who?"

He pointed at her. "I was talking to myself. Don't listen to a private conversation between myself and I. Rude."

"You're a strange mortal," she responded after a moment of staring.

Harry shrugged. "I went to a school for wizards. Coming out being only labeled strange is a blessing."

"A school of magic," said Aurora, eyes bright with speculation.

She was like a dog with a bone. He groaned. "You really need another hobby besides trying to get my life story. It isn't happening."

He left Aurora in the living room while he went into his bedroom closet. He grabbed a duffle from a shelf and tossed in a silver dagger, some herbs and oils, and a stack of books that he shrunk and dumped in. Some other things went into the bag and when it was filled to the brim he zipped it up and made his way back to the living room.

Aurora gave him an even stare as he entered the room that instantly put him on edge. He found out why. The woman sitting in his favorite armchair wore a blood red dress that looked like it cost more than his loft. Diamonds glittered around her neck and around her wrists. Dandelion white hair tumbled down her shoulders in soft waves. Her mouth quirked into a smile when she saw Harry, but there was nothing behind it. It was lovely, distant and remote.

He swallowed. "Hello, Queen Titania."

"Come join us, son-in-law. We have much to discuss."

Bollocks. This night officially sucked.

Harry crossed the room to stand next to Aurora. The chances of getting blasted to oblivion seemed less likely that way. Titania watched him cat-eyes not leaving his. Merlin help him if he started to break out into a sweat. She lifted a champagne flute to her lips and sipped, her green-purple eyes like wildflowers, remained on his face, unblinking.

"You two have been mysteriously absent as of late," Titania murmured, studying them with calm, heavy eyes.

Aurora shrugged one slim shoulder. "Not absent. Just not publicly visible."

"Some are beginning to wonder if you are in exile, but we both know differently."

She smiled.

"Rumors that are playing to my advantage," the Summer Lady replied.

"You are hidden from even me," Titania said. "All Sight becomes clouded around you."

Aurora smiled and said simply, "Oh?"

"Your warding skills have grown undeniably powerful to blind your steps through my own domain."

"Thank you."

Titania glanced at her, face devoid of all expression. It was like looking at a lovely statue. Then she said, "An observation. Not a compliment."

Harry cleared his throat and Titania's distant stare fell on him. "Where's Lily?"

"Is that name supposed to hold meaning for me?"

"The changeling girl," he responded. At her unchanging expression he elaborated, "The Summer Knight?"

"My young mortal champion," Titania murmured, turning her stare to the glass in her hand. She swirled the liquid around and then lifted it to her strawberry red lips. "Even now Winter is training their new Knight, and so am I. When one Court moves, the other inevitably moves with it."

He shook his head. He didn't even want to get into what counted as training. "You do know the Knights are best friends. Isn't that like a conflict of interest?"

"I am well aware," Titania said. "Both are changelings as well. The symmetry is absolutely elegant."

"But—"He started to say.

Titania silenced him with one unblinking stare and then returned to regard Aurora. "You are entering a treacherous game. Your opponents are veiled and they are many."

"I'm not alone in this," Aurora replied. She touched two warm fingers to the pulse point of Harry's wrist. He sucked in a breath.

"You two are among Summer's strongest. You will need that combined might for the task you have taken up."

His wife lifted her chin defiantly. "He must pay."

Harry looked at her from the corner of his eye. "Are you talking about Oberon?"

Titania's stare fell on him and it was decidedly unpleasant, and then there was pain. It started at his heart and then spread to his lungs, a sheet of blinding agony. He tried to suck in a breath and nothing came. This was pain beyond measure. He was choking. He couldn't scream. Nothing had ever hurt this much. He fell to his knees. His fingers scratched at his chest in a desperate bid for salvation. Then something warm came beside him; something very soothing touched the back of his neck. The comfort they brought was small, but they also gave him back clarity.

"How you survived this long is a mystery, you talking monkey. Speaking my husband's name twice more will create a link between you and summoning him forth will be the last thing you will ever do. Do it once more and I won't just finish boiling the blood in your heart I will make it explode."

The low hissing voice stopped and with it the pain receded to bearable levels. By bearable it was something resembling hellish pain as apposed to immeasurable agony. He sucked in huge gasps of breath and it was all he could do to keep from reaching for his wand. That would lead to his death. He almost fell over but Aurora's fingers kept their comforting hold on his neck.

"Mother." Aurora's eyes were alight and dangerously angry.

Harry knelt there for a minute as the world righted itself. The room stopped spinning and the pain was eased as Aurora's fingers rubbed circles against his back. It took another minute before even blinking stopped hurting. He wiped his mouth, and his hand came away wet with blood.

"You'll have to learn manners if you want to sit at the adult table," Titania continued calmly, as if she hadn't just come a hairs breadth away from ending him.

Harry stared at her and once more remembered that he was looking at the personification of Summer. Hot, merciless and bringer of storms. She could cause the earth to shake by her power alone. It was within her might to cause the earth to swallow the city. "I won't make the same mistake again."

Next time Summer Queen or not, he might just go for his wand after all or apparate across the continent.

Titania turned to Aurora, her eyes bright. "You are playing a dangerous gamble once more, daughter mine."

"I'm aware of that. Yet, I will not stop. Too much is at stake."

"Your father's memory is long. He remembers what I did to him all those years ago. This time he won't only go after the lowborn. He's coming for all of us."

Aurora lips formed into a line. "We can't let him."

"That's why we are taking the offensive," Titania said with quiet solemnity. "You are to use any means necessary to stop him. Permanently."

Aurora tilted her head and blinked her eyes slowly. "Any means?"

"Do not tell me," said Titania, holding up a hand. "I cannot purge myself if I do not know what you have planned. I have an inkling that you have once more done something to break our treaty with Winter. Know this, my daughter, if you are caught then I cannot protect you. The Summer Court will disavow any knowledge of your actions."

"As Your Grace commands, your word is done." She inclined her head.

Harry finally climbed to his feet with Aurora's help under Titania's iridescent gaze. "What say you, wizard? What will your role be?"

"I'm going to break him down and crack him open."

"That is why I named you Aequitas Lumina," Titania smiled, slow, pleased. She nodded to Aurora. "He's learning."

It was either get with the program or have his organs liquefied. He wasn't stupid.

Aurora didn't break eye contact. "We won't fail."

"Good hunting," said Titania. She lifted her glass to toast. "Remember our House words."

"Burn them all to ash," both Aurora and Harry responded on top of each other. Harry more out of self preservation than duty.

Titania smiled a feline smile with those deep red lips, and she tilted her head at Harry. "We'll make a king out of you yet."

There was a gigantic gust of wind, a sound like a high speed pressure of air inside a vacuum chamber, and Titania was gone.

Harry wiped blood away from his chin and glared at Aurora. "At least my Mum never actually shot you."

"She did apologize for injuring you."

Harry stared at her. "No. She really didn't."

Aurora actually _flipped_ her hair. "Well you aren't dead so count your blessings."

"I almost did die, hello," said Harry jabbing at his heart. "I should be in a coma or something. Mummy dearest was out for blood."

"You're being dramatic," Aurora sighed, making him choke. "Surely you've noticed since our marriage you've become harder to hurt, faster to heal. You're fine."

"What," Harry said.

Her smile was smug. "You're welcome."

Memories flew through his mind—mild concussions easing off quickly, scraps and cuts closing oddly fast, weirdly above average stamina and endurance. He thought his healing spells had improved, but that field had never been his forte.

"What," he said again, staring as her smile turned wider.

She ran a finger down the line of his jaw. "As far as side effects went, not bad wouldn't you say?"

"Cheeky thing aren't you," he said, reaching to poke her in the arm. He paused midway and stared into her too bright eyes. He remembered exactly who he was dealing with. "I'm going to grab my stuff and we can go before this night turns even more into a bloody mess."

"Is this what mortals call a date night?"

Harry's mouth fell open a little. "You are _ridiculous_."

Her laugh followed him as he walked out of the room.

* * *

Harry's eyes were itching, and he felt like if he slept now he wouldn't wake up for days. They didn't have that kind of time. Leananside was on the move all across Faerie searching for her stolen hellhound, and she wouldn't rest until Margaret was back in her kennel. The thing was Lea was _good_. She was more than a match for Harry when they went one on one. If the White Wand hadn't freaked out and _taken over_ then who knows how the fight would've turned out, then.

The sun rose in washes of orange and gold light as the ski boat cleared the turbulent waters of Lake Michigan. There wasn't anyone else out on the great lake. Not that it mattered because the boat was veiled with faerie magic rendering them undetectable by mortal means. The city disappeared behind them as the boat skimmed out into the center of the lake.

Harry stared at the boat's captain, dressed in a pair of slacks and blue v-neck under a black blazer. His snow white hair was bound back and even behind those dark sunglasses the Sidhe wore Harry knew his stare was being returned. "Why aren't you dead?"

Talos smiled.

Margaret let out a little laugh from where she was sprawled on the boat's deck. "Love outlasts death. The science is the movement of two flowers in the sea. The tin soldiers are seven and nine and made of dirt. Who is the keeper of the mists, no one but the stars know. Tell it all, shhhh, listeners are the spark of fate's fire."

She had taken to scratching at her face until she bled and Harry was forced to bind her hands. It didn't stop Margaret from dabbing her fingers in her bloody welts and using the blood to doddle all over herself. Her arm was covered in red scribbles that seemed to amuse her. It made his stomach turn a bit. But at least she was occupied.

"I was only serving my lady, whether my actions were condemned or not," said Talos, coolly. "Queen Titania was merciful and my punishment was light."

Harry sighed. "Pity."

It wasn't because Titania was merciful. She was no such thing. His usefulness hadn't run out and once it did then the Summer Queen would show him whose orders he really followed. He would rather see Talos sweeping the halls of Lux Sanctum, or at the bottom of the deepest pit of the Nevernever with a Dementor or two for company.

Aurora appeared at his side and studied his smile. "You're in good spirits."

"Not particularly," Harry said, shaking his head a little to clear his thoughts of Talos getting his comeuppance.

The boat bounced across the waves at a steady pace, throwing up splashes of spray that Harry deflected with an Impervius Charm. He would do something unspeakable for a Pepperup Potion right about now. The lake was vast and there was nothing but water as far as he could see.

"Why couldn't we get to this place by taking a Way through the Nevernever?" asked Harry.

The rising sun cast an almost unearthly glow about Aurora and he had trouble looking at her directly. She smiled as she basked in the sun's rays. "You said the spell would have more of an effect if we went someplace that holds meaning to her."

Harry looked around at the empty lake and said slowly, "Yeah."

"There's an uncharted island in the center of lake that Margaret Dresden often frequented."

"Still doesn't answer my question," Harry repeated. "Why did we have to take the normal way here? Shortcuts are fantastic."

She paused, that unnaturally stillness that made him uncomfortable. "The island does not lead to anything… pleasant within the Nevernever. This route is slow but safe.

Harry shook his head. "Alright, my discomfort meter just went from this," he held his hand chest high, and then quickly raised it above his head, "to _this._ Explain. Now."

"There are lines of energy crossing the entire planet. Certain spots have greater concentrations than others. This region in particular is a nexus for them."

Something tugged at Harry's memory and he breathed, sharply, "Ley lines."

"Exactly," she nodded. "The place we're going has one such ley line. In fact, the island is its source. It's where the energy stems from. Very dark and dangerous energy."

Harry stared at Aurora. "When I said this was a shady bit of dark magic, I didn't mean we were about to do a medieval black magic ritual." He waved his hand around in frustration. "You don't know how mortal magic gets altered around that crap. I swear if I come out of this calling myself Dark Lord Potter it's _on_."

Aurora pursed her lips thoughtfully, considering him. "That does have a certain cachet."

He groaned and snapped his fingers in front of her face. "Focus, would you. I can already see the wheels turning in that pretty little head of yours."

"Pretty?" she asked, preening under his disbelieving stare.

"Unbelievable," Harry muttered, moving away from her and to the other side of the deck. "Bloody sociopathic narcissist."

Talos' glasses slipped down showing his inhuman feline eyes. "Trouble in paradise?"

"Ah, yes, because this moment wouldn't be complete without your dumb comment," said Harry, shaking his head. "Please shut up and go back to lurking in the background like a good little minion."

Talos just smiled that infuriatingly smug smile of his.

Wanker.

Harry turned to face the stern just in time to see an island rise up from the chilly waters of the lake. It was covered in tall trees and filled with brush and foliage, like thick thickets that looked half his size and filled with thorns.

The shoreline was like something from one of those old horror films of old Western ghost towns. And it had been empty for some time because the forest had come to take back its land. Trees grew through the old wooden buildings and most had fallen into decay and collapsed into themselves. The sudden silence in the air was eerie as his eyes traced the crumbling structures, scanning the abandoned town for signs of life. There should be at least animals or birds but there was nothing.

"Well this is lovely," muttered Harry under his breath.

Aurora was beside him once more. "That's the dark energy of the island. It compels people away or it drives them insane. Make no mistake, we are not wanted here."

Harry rubbed the goosebumps on his arms, finally placing the forbidding feeling for what it was. This place was death and ruin and they were going mucking about on shore. Shit. All of Aurora's plans needed revising by him in the future. He should know better by now.

"Where do we dock?" Harry asked, gazing around. His eyes landed on the sad remains of a rotting pier at the shoreline. The planks were long gone and the wooden columns jutted out of the water, broken and useless. "Oh."

Talos shut the engine and the boat glided to the broken wooden post nearest the shore. He was already climbing into the front of the boat as the vessel bumped against the column, waiting with rope in hand. He tied the boat to the column.

Then the Lord Marshall was lifting Margaret up into his arms and jumping overboard. Aurora blew a kiss at Harry and followed him over. They landed on the surface of the lake like it was firm earth. Without a backward glance they continued walking across water to the shore.

"Five points to Summer," he said, impressed.

Harry concentrated and _sprang_ into the air. It was like stop action. One second he was on the boat and the next he was standing next to the others on the shore. The trees shook as if a storm were passing. And if it wasn't for the backwash of air it might have been hypothesized as apparation.

"That's how you got over my wall of thorns. You can fly," Aurora deduced, looking satisfied as if she solved some great mystery.

He refused to meet her stare on principle. "And you can walk on water. Let's not make it into a thing."

Harry took another step and froze as the world transformed into light. Countless threads of glowing green light surrounded him. Each one touched a part of his body and stretched off into the infinite beyond. He could feel the Earth hurtling through space, around the sun, and all it would take was a thought and he would fall and fall through space and away from this planet, from this _universe_. Harry's stare fell onto one glowing thread and his mind went spiraling between the past and future and outside time marjoram.

There was darkness and it was absolute. Only there was something here with him in the dark, waiting. A gate loomed large above him. The structure itself appeared to be a massive frame at least eight stories and housing a pair of doors denoted with innumerable glyphs and sigils, wards and warnings. Power vibrated off of the gate and Harry reached out his hand—he had been here before…

The ground shook beneath his feet. The _island_ shook.

Something _other_ swept over him and through him, an unkind awareness. It was the chill of a grave, a vast darkness, and its sheer presence fell on him and _crushed_ him. It didn't like him. Its malevolence spread into his mind, into his veins, and then it…stopped. It was—curious.

There was music, someone was singing a lullaby, and then came a whisper in the dark.

_Your treasure will remain secret. This one is mine, Guardian._

Harry sucked in a gasp of breath. He scrambled backward until his back hit a log. Aurora appeared above him and he flinched as the world tried to right itself as reality reasserted its grip. Aurora's hands grabbed his face and held him still.

"_Harry!" _

Aurora's voice did something weird where it was musical and soft but strong in the power laced through it. It was like a clarion's call breaking through the fog of disorientation. With each beat of his heart Harry's perception cleared.

Harry's hands grasped hers, holding them to his face, against his cheeks. "Aurora?"

"What happened?" asked Aurora. There was an unusual timbre of concern in her tone. "You fell and the earth quaked. You began to seizure and I, I—"

"This island is _alive_," he rambled, distressed, so his words came out too fast, tumbling over each other. "That's not right—it has a sort of spirit to it. Yeah, that's it! An awareness. It's really strong and not friendly." He looked at her and his eyes were wide. "The ley line set off my ability like a. Like a catalyst. The island tried to end me, but then it saw something in me—" He swallowed and his voice came out very quiet, "I think we got permission to be here."

"_Genuis loci_," she breathed. The look she fixed Harry with was intense. "That's what the wizards call such a spirit. You spoke with it? Communicated."

Harry gently took her hands from his face and looked down at his side. There lay the White Wand, fallen in his haste. He stared at the seemingly innocent piece of white oak wood. "It wasn't me."

Aurora followed his stare to the wand and her mouth turned into a harsh frown. "Harry…."

"I know," he acknowledged her warning.

There was nothing left to say. He carefully put the White Wand back in his pocket. It was safer on him then tucked away somewhere else. Dumbledore had that much right with the Elder Wand. He ignored Talos' stare of intent and Margaret's crazy grin.

"Let's hurry," said Harry, staring off thoughtfully. His mind was racing. "I don't think we should stick around longer than we need to."

They made their way between the derelict old buildings and away from the could-have-been town, keeping pace steadily uphill. It was slow going as the growth was thicker here. If Harry and Margaret weren't with them, he was positive Aurora and Talos would have made their way easily through the thick brush. The Sidhe moved with elegance through the foliage and thorns and branches seemed to _bend_ around them in a way that wasn't noticeable unless you kept a careful eye for it.

They came to the edge of the town and Harry stopped suddenly, staring with wariness at the mountain that loomed above the forest ahead. His Occlumency locked up his thoughts tight and even then there was a strong sense of psychic pressure that pressed into his mind.

"We shouldn't go any further," Harry said, holding out his arm to stop the others. "I think this is as far as our visitors pass goes."

Aurora nodded, her eyes watching him carefully. "I agree."

Harry pulled the shrunken duffle bag from his packet and then enlarged it with a flick of his first wand. He started pulling out supplies idly listening to Margaret's nonsensical ramblings that disturbed the otherwise silent morning.

He grabbed a book and flipped through it, skimming it as he read under his breath, "North by northwest, intent formed by will… fate line across the palm…"

"Have you ever done such magic like this before?" asked Aurora.

Harry snorted. "Every Tuesday after tea." He shook his head. "Nope. The last time I saw a restorative ritual I was fourteen, and it was some dark stuff. This won't come close. I hope."

After some more time consulting the books Harry was as ready as he would ever be. First, he placed four black candles at each cardinal point, using the Point Me spell with his wand so that he could align them properly. Next, he got out the black handled athame with its thin silver blade, along with a silver goblet he knicked from Solaria Garden a few years back.

"Alright," he said quietly. "Now or never."

Talos led Margaret into the center of the ring formed by the candles and then moved to stand beside Aurora. Margaret promptly took a set on the ground laughingly playing at the dirt. Immediately she started drawing the same doodles on the ground that matched the blood drawn ones on her body. Harry contemplated hitting her with a quick _Scourgify_ but last time he cast the Cleaning Charm on her, she kidney punched him. So she could just stay messy for all he cared.

Harry stepped into the ring and set the goblet on the ground. He reached into his pocket and withdrew the vial of Aiden's blood.

"Blood of the child, freely given, you will restore this mother." He dumped the vial into the goblet and switched it for the athame. With a swift stroke Harry cut into his palm and his blood ran down into the cup. "Blood of the friend, willingly given, you will mend this woman."

Harry bent to one knee and gently wrapped his fingers around Margaret's. She didn't even look at him, continuing her drawing with her free hand. He cast a Numbing Charm on her hand and quickly made a cut across her palm. She didn't feel it but Margaret turned fascinated eyes to the swell of blood as Harry maneuvered her hand so that it fell into the goblet.

"Blood of the victim, peacefully taken, you will renew this wizard."

Their blood mixed and there was almost a tangible hum of power. It was in the air, in the wind, and beneath their feet and building like a static that was turning into electricity. Harry picked up the goblet and almost hissed as the concentrated energy welled up from the cup, threatening to spill over. Somehow the cup was full with blood, more than that went in, and it wasn't simply blood now. It was a potion.

Harry took Margaret's hands and folded them around the cup. Under her blank gaze he mimed drinking, hoping that she understood. He could feel Talos and Aurora's silent stares but didn't dare stop trying to coax her. She had to freely drink it or it wouldn't take. Then without warning Margaret lifted the cup and downed it, drinking so deeply that it dribbled down her chin as she swallowed it all.

The empty goblet fell from her limp fingers and it rolled out of the circle. She burped and then laughed a little at herself. His heart sunk.

"Oh, no," Harry murmured, frowning down at his hands.

Aurora took a step forward and Harry turned to her, an apology on his lips when Margaret grabbed his head and spun it to face her. He stared into those fathomless dark eyes and for the first time felt the beginnings of a soulgaze. But that meant— his eyes widened as the connection formed.

Her power made him gasp. It was absolutely beautiful in its complexity but deadly in its strength.

Harry rocked back on his heels as he gazed into the everburning star that was Margaret Dresden's soul.

He saw Margaret garbed in gray standing amidst a sea of white robed people with no faces. The shadows gathered and grew at their backs, she shouted to get their attention, but she was ignored like always—she closed her eyes and let the shadows engulf her. Pity them. The end was coming. The end was near.

She was Margaret Gwendolyn LeFay McCoy Dresden.

Many names, many titles. But she was so much more. She was a prisoner, a victim, wizard, rebel, daughter, wife and above all a mother. She loved her children. There wasn't anything she wouldn't do for her boys. Thomas was safe and her little Harry was protected, but he needed guidance—training. What was coming, Stars and Stones, she prayed he wouldn't fall. Not like her.

She was a fighter but she could never protect the ones she really loved. What was after her would come after him. Her one true love. The little time they had she would never forget. All the while she would never forgive herself for putting him in harm's way. She was sorry with everything that she was. Please, forgive her.

_Dad_.

_Malcom_.

Might didn't make right. She knew that but there was no deal she wouldn't make to keep her people safe. Because there was secrets. Some would cost her life and others would buy life. There was darkness in her soul. She knew its potential and what she was capable of. It was her greatest strength and her biggest weakness. She stayed in between the dark and light, because she knew who and what she was. She was the daughter of the Blackstaff. She was not going to fall in line with those who beget evil.

The cord snapped and just as swiftly as it begun the soulgaze ended. Harry stared as Margaret blinked rapidly, waiting for the inevitable reaction that came with soulgazing him. And waited.

"Do you hear that?" asked Talos, tensing up and pulling a rapier out of thin air at his left hip.

Harry stood up and listened, his whole body ready. "I don't hear anything."

Aurora peered into the forest ahead and said softly, "She's here."

Out of the forest stepped a very tall, beautiful woman with deep red hair that curled past her hips in a riotous cascade. The green gown she wore looked out of place amongst the scenery, but she wore it well as she stalked toward them, golden eyes gleaming in the morning light.

"You naughty brats. You took something that belongs to me," Lea purred, but there was real malice in her voice. On either side of her stalked a pair of hellhounds, four total, watching them with flat red eyes.

Talos pointed his sword at Lea and glared at her down the length of the blade. "Go, my lady. I will hold her off."

No one saw him move. In the next instant he was in Lea's space, sword swinging toward her neck. Lea dodged almost lazily. She feigned left and Talos reacted a second too slow. Her hand blurred forward and grabbed him by his arm, breaking it in several places, before the other darted forward. She grabbed Talos by the throat and pulled. There was a sickening squelch and he hit the ground, but Lea's hand remained there in the air holding the dangling and dripping remains of his trachea. She dropped it almost casually on his twitching, gasping body that was ripped open and dying, the ground turning a deep black-red color beneath him. It all happened in less than twenty seconds.

"Now where was I?" said Lea, staring at their shocked faces. "You have something of mine and I want it _back_."

From behind Harry came a noise and he spun around as Margaret climbed to her feet. "I wasn't aware that I was a thing to be kept."

Her voice was quiet but no less resolute. She rose up tall, back straight, and head held high. Her dark eyes shone with a focus and clearness that Harry had never seen. There was strength in the set of her jaw and in the new way she carried herself.

"Impossible," Lea breathed, golden eyes wide.

Margaret raised her hand flat with palm facing the ground. The doodles on her arms flared violently red. Harry stared as it clicked in his mind. They weren't doodles, they were glyphs. The identical glyphs drawn on the ground lit up just as brightly and from the earth rose up a staff of dark, twisted wood, unmarked by any carving. It was black like the nighttime sky. She grasped it in her left hand and a chill descended in the air.

"It's been a long time, Leanansidhe," said Margaret quietly.

Lea inclined her head. She flexed her fingers and her nails grew into sharp claws. "I suppose I should say welcome back."

"I've come to collect my debts," declared Margaret. "This ass whooping you got coming is only the start of what you owe me. So ante up."

* * *

**Author's Note**; Not much to say here but I hope you liked it. There's going to be quite the epic fight next chapter.

Special Thanks; _Wizard Giller, knight504, Bill Door, Jon, Dark Syaoran the first three for any and all editing help and the last two for keeping the laughs coming in the story post at DLP._


	24. What is Dead May Never Die

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter either. It belongs to its creator J.K. Rowling and probably Warner Bros. too. I'm not too sure about that. This piece of literature is simply the work of a humble fan. I also credit Jim Butcher for various themes, subjects, or references that I may use.

Author Notes: This is a Harry Potter crossover with the Dresden Files the book series. All my knowledge of the Dresden Files comes from the books. I've never seen the TV series. For the timeline that will be stated later. Thanks to the folks at DLP for help with editing.

* * *

**Awaken Sleeper.  
**Chapter Twenty Three: What is Dead May Never Die  
by: Water Mage

There was going to be a reckoning. It was in the chill of the air and in the earth. He could feel it in his very bones. Harry could count on one hand the number of times where he felt the turbulent emotions of anxiousness and dread catch strongly hold of him in this manner. When he fought Slytherin's Basilisk, Voldemort's resurrection to corporeal form (hell, all of their encounters really), Dumbledore and the Dark Lord's duel in the Ministry of Magic, Mab and Titania going head up and nearly unmaking him from existence—and now.

Harry had seen into the fires of Margaret Dresden's soul. He knew who she was and what she was capable of. She had a temper on her and carried the power to back it up. If there was a ranking for wizards she would be in the top twenty in terms of sheer strength. Margaret was fire and ice and passion and her cunning was exemplified in her magical skill. Her potential for darkness was deep. She knew it and her enemies knew it. The White Council considered her dangerous. They were right to. Fear her because those witnessing were about to understand why.

Her opponent merely smiled at her cockily. Leanansidhe wasn't someone who intimidated easily. She was Veritas Glacio, the Cold Truth, and Harry's political counterpart of the Unseelie fae. She was judge, jury, and executioner and answered only to the Winter Queen. Lea was second to no one but Queen Mab in terms of power. When you were number two to a being that could easily take on the _entire _Senior Council of the White Council by themselves, well, she was someone not to underestimate. All eyes were watching Lea very closely these days. It was no secret that she was seeking ways of growing _stronger_.

"You seem upset, old friend," Lea remarked casually.

Margaret narrowed her eyes. "Probably has something to do with being stuck in a kennel for almost thirty years."

"Were you not well provided for?" She smiled, revealing fanged teeth. "Did you really think a little thing like death would keep you from our bargain?"

"I remember our contract," said Margaret. "I remember everything. I know the measures you took to keep me alive. Doesn't mean you still didn't screw me over by keeping me locked up all this time. Hear me Leanansidhe of the Winter Court, I owe you pain."

Lea didn't look impressed. "If it's a fight you seek I am happy to oblige. What does your darling son say?" She tapped a finger against her chin and then a slow smirk tugged at her lips. "Ah yes, come get you some."

A hellhound darted forward from Lea's heels in a blur of dark fur. It leapt into the air with its massive jaws opened wide to tear off the wizard's face. Margaret didn't move. She just sneered in contempt, lifted her hand, snapped her fingers, and the beast let out a short, chocking cry before exploding in a shower of gore.

Margaret stared stonily at her adversary through the raining black blood. "I'm disappointed, Lea. It's been awhile but you have to remember you'll need more than a demonic dog to take me down."

Lea made a tsking sound, shaking her head. "That's why I left my beloved pets behind."

The blood on the ground _moved, _churning and bubbling, and smoothly rose into the air. The blood molded into a humanoid figure and before their eyes became a creature of darkness. Its body was heavily muscled and black like ink, covered in ragged bits of cloth, and a knife was plunged to the hilt right into its heart. Blood dripped from the wound, but it didn't seem to care two shits about taking it out. Instead of a face, a smooth, bone white beak jutted out from its featureless head. It seemed to be separated into four quarters by a horizontal and a vertical crease. At Margaret's sharp intake the thing's beak split apart into four directions, a row of tiny, needle-like teeth on each section. A long, distended purple tongue came out and it let out a horrid noise that sounded like cawing.

"The Killing Crows," murmured Aurora.

Harry turned to her but she was watching the other beasts warily as they all simultaneously began to shift and grow into the same dark creature from whatever bloody nightmare they sprung from. A hand grasped his own and Aurora's slender fingers entwined with his.

_These are creatures of Before, servants of Winter as Rawhead and Bloody Bones was to Summer_, said a voice right in his ear, scratch that into his mind—except it was Aurora's and with a start Harry realized she was manipulating the bond in some manner to project her thoughts right through his Occlumency barriers.

She must need skin contact to initiate such a connection, he reasoned. Such a measure was comforting but not by much.

_A murder of crows you humans have a term. It originates from these creatures, Mother Winter's royal assassins. Her personal shook troopers. Think kenku, but ten times more dangerous,_ said Aurora in a calm voice, briskly listing off the facts. _I imagine Margaret Dresden and Leanansidhe will battle and these four will attack us. They might not have our raw power but they're formidable warriors. They were created to dispose of powerful foes such as ourselves. Let's strike first together to set the battle on our terms. This will also allow us to gauge their strength. They never tire so let's make this quick, and do prevent yourself from laying waste to the island. The spirit will become ever so cranky. Whatever you do, this is very important, do not ever cross their shadows._

Aurora's hand left his just as the final Crow finished its transformation. The entire conversation had been an inaudible stream that lasted half a second—the speed of thought. In the next moment Aurora vanished in a whirl of leaves and Harry disapparated with a loud _crack_.

Two solid sunshine yellow beams suddenly carved the earth apart beneath the feet of the Crows, as Aurora appeared on the group's left flank, and then lanced into the ribs of a creature too unconcerned to dodge. The knife speared through its chest gave off a dark light, and incredibly enough, the beam didn't outright incinerate it into ash. It only seared the creature's torso into a bloody mess. Aurora's eyes narrowed into burning green slits. Its painful holler was full of promise.

The Crows streaked to Aurora's position and claws snapped past her defenses to rip her to shreds. Her body literally exploded into a cacophony of doves that flocked into the clear sky as the illusion destabilized. If they hadn't seen the doves' flight trajectory they might have missed Harry falling from the sun like a comet.

His wand was pointed below him, tip glowing searingly bright, and it was pushing a barrier of some sort of strange energy around the soles of his boots. Well to the Crows it was strange, to Harry; he was buffering his body with a solid mass of energy with high kinetic force. Behold, Harry Potter, Boy Who Lived, human missile. This was either his dumbest idea or— Harry closed his eyes and impacted into the ground.

The detonation shook the earth and the release of kinetic energy crushed every bone of the nearest two Crows' bodies. The large chunk of energy dumped into the remaining two, blowing them back and into the ground, their bodies disappearing within the resultant cloud of debris. It dissipated to reveal Harry kneeling on the ground encased under a shimmering blue dome. Ripples of energy from the fall and the backwash of energy from the attack roiled across its surface until expending itself entirely on the wizard's impenetrable defense.

Harry stood up in the substantial crater he created. He looked around at his fallen foes. He loved a quick fight, but with the way Aurora hyped them up he figured—His eyes widened as they all flipped to their feet impossibly fast. He could hear bones snap into place and together they cawed, beaks opening and closing like flower petals.

_Well, bugger it all._

He scrambled out of the crater as the cawing changed pitch, sounding more like a call of attack. Of course it was. Their hands _blurred_ and hundreds and hundreds of daggers thudded into the earth where he'd been. Merlin almighty. Where did all those _come_from? The daggers took on a bright glow like an enchantment and the crater began to fill with sizzling, sulfur smelling acid.

One of the massive creatures appeared in Harry's path when he climbed out. Aurora was there first. The Crow's beak opened wide and when it spoke it was from two slits running down its tongue, moving like mouths. Its fists clenched. "_Summerrr_."

Its growly bass evoked memories of monsters under the bed, whispers in your closet, creaking in your house; it was fear given voice. Aurora was not moved. The creature was on her with overwhelming force. Even with her Sidhe speed, the thing was faster and stronger, but Aurora wasn't a fighter. She knew a few forms, but that was standard training for Ladies of the Sidhe Courts. The thing could keep its assassin arts. Aurora was the youngest Queen of Summer. In her hands was the power to bring the dawn and carve out empires.

Light flared from her skin like a flash bomb and temporarily blinded the creature, and using its own attacking momentum against it she unleashed a brutal combination into the thing's cranium and flipped it into the ground with a dropped shoulder. She followed the Crow down with blazing light gathering in her open palm. Aurora slammed the small ball of condensed plasma directly into its torso. Not just that it melted clean through its midsection, but the remaining potential pumped into the ground and left the singed Crow laying in a ring of glowing orange earth.

"I'm impressed," Harry muttered as she rose up to stand beside him. He watched the other Crows at wand point.

Aurora frowned at the rapidly healing hole in the downed Crow's torso. "This will become irritating."

* * *

Across the clearing and some distance away the Leanansidhe and the resurrected wizard faced each other. Friends or something like it, as much as their two people could be called, they once were. Now there was almost thirty years of what could have been and what should be hanging between them. Words would come later. Now was the time for revenge. Never anger a wizard, the saying goes. This was why.

Margaret swept her black staff hard to the left and a rippling crescent burst outward, forcing Lea into a complex aerial evasion. The shadowy pulse continued on and stuck the line of trees and turned them to dust. It happened scarily fast. The entire treeline was bleached of color, like a photo negative of itself, and they were simply gone. Just like that, dust to dust.

Lea landed in a crouch and her extravagant dress shimmered and evaporated, new threads weaving around her body to replace the gown. The snow white leotard fully exposed her shapely legs and its long sleeves were tucked into a pair of red gauntlets with white boots that stopped at her ankle.

The Sidhe smiled nastily at the staff in Margaret's grip. "Does Daddy know you're playing with his toy?"

"Does Mommy know you're dressed like the slut at the prom?"

Lea winked. Then it was on.

Margaret was forced to roll out of the way of the multi headed blast. She barely saw the fae's hands move to cast it. The arcs of green magic took independent paths in every direction but were all targeted at the exact same point. There was no way she could dodge or intercept them all. The independent lines of energy converged suddenly, and Margaret thumped her staff against the ground, murmured a word, and a circle opened into the air directly in the bolts path. The gate of the Nevernever swallowed the deadly attack and closed at her command.

Margaret thrust her hand into the air with her pinkie and index finger extended, the rest curled into her palm. Lea's entire body froze in high altitude as gravity turned against her. Blue fire curled around her fists and golden eyes promised pain as they bored into the wizard ensnaring her.

"I know your moves, Lea," Margaret said, stoned faced. "Stop testing me. Let's. Go."

The wizard dropped to a knee, slammed her hand into the ground, and Lea fell like a meteorite. Her body cratered into the earth with enough force to kill a normal human on impact. Margaret took a step back as Lea's flesh took on a pale blue tone and literally fell apart with a splash transforming into a rapidly expanding pool of water. It covered a third of the clearing and Margaret took several more steps back to dry land.

All her senses screamed _danger _and Margaret swept her staff up as an impossibly gigantic shark, like something from a fairytale burst upwards from the pool in a spray. Its monstrous jaws clamped down on her and swallowed her whole. It descended back into the ethereal depths and all was silent.

It didn't stay that way. The water began bubbling only to quickly turn into a swirling maelstrom. Pale lightning danced within the currents. It was as beautiful as it was deadly. The ground rumbled and the pool exploded in a huge spray as the earth cracked. Violet light was visible through the cracks as heavy chunks of earth began to jut up six feet high. The water drained through the fissures revealing Margaret standing on one of the upright spires as the tremors came to an end. Her clothes were in tatters and she was holding a hand to her ribs as she took quick shallow breaths.

Where there had once been flat ground there was now a craggy mess of rocks. The landscape had turned into a hard to navigate terrain. Margaret looked around the bumpy, jagged ground with a keen eye. She could work with this.

Two bolts of hyper dense water fell on her position. Margaret jumped down into the pit of rocks as the bolts detonated on impact to freeze the spire completely. Lea was relentless. Her laughter echoed in the pit as she darted between the stones launching attacks with lightning speed. Margaret ducked under lances of energy, blocked jets of fire with a translucent shield, and evaded chains of solidified black ice. The Sidhe moved so quickly that Margaret couldn't retaliate without missing her by a mile. It was textbook guerilla warfare.

Margaret had been in a transmogrified state for too long and the truth is she was rusty. She might have been out of the game for this long, but her father's Blackstaff made a _brilliant _crutch. It was bathed in blood and its magic was blackest beyond pitch. It was made of power and it was alive. Her father would soon notice the artifact missing. The summoning she used was essentially a pickpocketing spell. She throttled a rueful grin.

Everyone always did call her a bad girl.

She gathered her magic together and channeled the electromagnetic forces of the ground and the currents of the air simultaneously and she gave a mental _heave. _The magnetic field she was manipulating generated an antigravity effect lifting the sheet of rock she stood upon into the air. She willed the air currents to gain altitude. Then it was payback time.

It was Lea's turn to come under bombardment as the wizard used the superior vantage point to deal destruction. Chained lightning unleashed itself into the pit in a storm of devastation. Margaret lifted the Blackstaff and the lightning converged, evaporating the rock Lea ducked under and barely singed her hair in the release.

The Sidhe lifted her hand when the attack refocused and redoubled. The supernatural lightning struck a gleaming silver knife and was redirected harmlessly into the ground. The Leanansidhe kissed the blade before hurling it upward at her attacker.

Midflight it became a hundred needle thin, purple bolts. They ablated off the energy barrier Margaret called up like bullets; however the shield wasn't a complete sphere and it couldn't stand against the vaporous cloud forming under her feet. Her eyes widened as ice crawled up her ankles and she muttered a curse. Margaret barely jumped off her floating rock in time as the cloud solidified, pulsed, and the newly frozen ice cube was torn asunder. She landed on the ground in a roll and with a snarl glared up into the sky, murmuring a word.

The frozen debris didn't fall to earth. It was still under the control of Margaret's anti gravity field. She quickly caught the stones while charging them with energy and sent them flying toward the Sidhe like cannonballs. Her opponent nimbly dodged the exploding rocks with inhuman grace. Lea brought her hands together in a clap and the ghostly image of a massive white direwolf appeared. Its mouth opened and it swallowed the remainder of the incoming volley without fanfare and then from its opened jaws roared a torrent of blue flame.

Margaret curled her fingers and super compressed hard water streaked out to meet the elemental fire. The attacks collided with a _hiss_creating a cloud of superheated steam that covered the battlefield in a thick cloud of mist, rendering everything in a haze. Margaret blew out a long breath and the wind kicked up in a strong gale to rapidly clear the smoke.

A flash of golden eyes was all saw she before a hand wrapped around her throat on a run. The momentum carried them back into a rock spire and Margaret hit so hard, white spots flared in her vision as her back felt like it was crushed on impact. Lea's fingers dug in and she lifted the struggling and wheezing wizard up until her toes scraped the ground.

"Mmm this reminds me of that last time I had your husband like this," Lea murmured, leaning in so closely their lips were scant centimeters apart. "You were quite the pair. Too bad he got involved with you. How does that saying go, _fuck with Lefay and die today_."

There was a bright white flash between them and laser-hardened light photons burst forth like a beam that passed right through Lea's right bicep like warm butter. She stumbled back with a cry to clutch at the bloody wound even as Margaret stumbled a safe distance away to recover.

Margaret rubbed at her throat and it felt like sandpaper when she tried to swallow. Anything more than a raised voice was going to hurt like a bitch. Even then it was going to be hard to vocalize spells, if words were all she needed—it wasn't. As long as there was a will, there was a way.

Lea was upon her just as Margaret jabbed two fingers into the dirt and the already scarred earth split into a wide trench as she flooded the minor fractures in the soil with a spike of magical force, rupturing their bonds with violent force. The Sidhe weaved in between the plums of fire belching from the crag and transmogrified the stone spires and debris rushing at her at high speeds into terrifying orbs of deep crimson. The heat seeking napalm numbered a dozen and simultaneously accelerated toward Margaret.

In one smooth wave of her staff the napalm was intercepted by a gigantic slab of rock that grew from the ground like a tree. The resulting explosion sent anything not rooted into the earth flying back as the area was bathed in an intense wave front of compressed air. Even the melee that had gone ignored by the two of them were forced improvise countermeasures before they found themselves outright flattened.

The smoke didn't clear before Lea was on the move raining lethal fire into the smoky pit of death. Golden eyes gleamed almost gleefully as lances of cold blue sliced through the arid smoke. The lances carved up the ground as she dragged the beams wide, focus clear in her eyes.

The black smoke gave a sudden pulsation and its billowy form smoothed into a roughly human shape giant of a creature that was over thirty meters tall with jade eyes filled with life and hatred and darkness. It took up just about all the space in the clearing that was a little over sixty meters in circumference.

Jade light crackled around her fingers and Lea grinned at the sight. "I was there when you refined this spell." She sighed wistfully, "Memories."

"And you'll be here when I kick your ass with it," Margaret said in a rasp, throat killing her with each spoken word.

"That's it," Lea murmured. "Make me beg for it."

The smoke given form was an avatar for Margaret and when she swung her first, the giant's arm followed her movements. Lea leapt over the appendage and it slammed into the ground with a quake they felt in the soles of their feet. The resulting crater was nothing to sneeze at.

If Lea was worried she didn't show it. The giant went into attack mode as it copied its mistress' moves with devastating effect, and it was visibly noted that its strength was far proportionally greater than that of Margaret's due to its size. It dealt out colossal amounts of damage to the landscape as the Sidhe evaded the blows, but all that was needed was one good strike. One mistake would turn her into paste, which Margaret was counting on.

"Are you trying to miss me on purpose?" Lea asked with a laugh, as she neatly jumped away from the foot that demolished the spot she just stood in.

Margaret gritted her teeth. "Stay still and you'll get my answer."

She kicked out with her foot for emphasis and the avatar responded in kind. The giant's left leg flashed out and Leanansidhe evaded the kick with ease doing a neat little cartwheel out of the attack zone, simply showing off at this point. Her initial dodge left her body turned at an angle where she didn't see the second leg of the double round house kick sweep in until it was too late.

Lea had less than two seconds from seeing her death accelerate forward to hastily improvise a defense. The violent shield flared blindingly bright taking a brunt of the attack, but it didn't stop the remainder of the force from lashing into her and sending her careening back into the forest _hard_, a muffled explosion sounded in distance.

Margaret took stock of the destroyed landscape that looked like the battle zone it had turned into. Off in the distance she could hear the sounds of the melee going on between her saviors and the Killing Crows. Lea's hand must have indeed grown strong for her to lease Mother Winter's unstoppable weapons.

Growling came from the forest and the avatar reflected its mistress' defensive stance as flame-red hair was seen first coming from the dark woods. Lea emerged with enough cuts and scraps to ensure she was a bleeding mess. Her golden eyes were narrowed into two glowing slits.

"I do believe the gloves are coming off," said Lea, blood trickled down her mouth. "I am quite through indulging you."

At her side was that knife from earlier. Her clawed hand was wrapped around its dark handle and there was something dangerous about it now. It was terrible and old, something more awful than Margaret could name, and it was ruin made into a blade. That knife couldn't be what she thought it was. There was no—

The air above the avatar wavered and Lea came out from under a veil four meters above the giant's right shoulder. Margaret moved to counter but the Sidhe already held the knife in its downward stroke. Realistically, she knew there was no way that an athame could ever do any damage however negligible to her avatar. Yet if her hunch was correct this knife was an artifact of _significant _power.

Lea was proving Margaret's theory correct as she fell into the giant with the force of altitude, piercing the knife through the avatar's right shoulder, down through its chest, straight through the torso and clearing the body at its left hip. Lea impacted the ground lightly on the balls of her feet in a slight crouch with the knife held out before her.

Blue electricity danced within the gash bisecting the giant almost clean in two. It stumbled forward a bit independently of its mistress' movement and then fell straight back, hitting the ground with enough force to carve a deep trench in its wake as it skidded backward over a dozen meters.

Lea let out a feral snarl and launched a ruby red bolt at the downed giant. It struck him at the speed of light and the release of magical energy lit the sky, vaporizing the fallen giant outright in a wash of brilliant red light.

"Madea's bodkin," Margaret murmured, naming the deceptively small knife for what it truly was. She then surveyed the remains of her avatar with a dispassionate stare.

"Recognize the power in my hands," said Lea, her voice calm as she stared into Margaret's eyes. "Tremble before the path of destruction I now walk."

That knife was making her reassess her strategy. Margaret hadn't counted on Lea holding an artifact so powerful on her person. It wasn't so much what the knife was. Like the Swords of the Cross, the knife was connected to something powerful. She frowned. Well it was either go big or get her ass handed to her.

"I didn't want to have to resort to these spells, since my body is still recovering," said Margaret quietly. Resolve was clear in her voice, her expression solemn.

Every wizard had an affinity for a particular branch of magic. Some even found a particular element to harness easier than others. Margaret had always been a woman of freedom, going wherever the mood struck and fancying the broken roads. The wind fit her temperament in every sense. It was wild, free and everywhere. Wizards were long lived and Margaret spent almost a century mastering the element. Her aeromancy was the most advanced of the White Council before her untimely departure. The things she could do with the air made Wardens wary; the Severing Wind they called her behind her back.

Margaret's gritted her teeth as her hair blew upward in a fierce gust of air. Visible currents of wind blew around her legs and built up until it covered her body in a controlled cyclone. Yellow currents of energy crackled around her body as the wind built up so much power that it turned Margaret into a living turbine. She lifted her hand flat revealing the harnessed currents of vacuum energy.

The sudden influx of power needed an outlet or it would cook her inside out. The only reason why she hadn't instantly fainted from the stress was the Blackstaff. The whirling vacuum blade flew from her hand, and for a moment it seemed like maybe it harmlessly dissipated but the sound of falling trees echoed far into the distance for miles like an omen. Dark eyes stared coldly at her opponent across the field.

"You've left me no choice. Watch me closely because here I come."

The battlefield turned into ground zero.

* * *

A little less than a quarter of a mile away another fight was unfolding. The Killing Crows lived up to their reputation as unstoppable juggernauts. Husband and wife unleashed magical devastation into the ranks of elite warriors. The Crows dodged lances of plasma and bolts of magical force with their overwhelming edge in speed. Their high speed onslaught was an aggressive Sidhe art known as Volnus de Diluculum and their healing wasn't instantaneous, but it was pretty damn close.

Harry was a long ranged fighter. Magic was his specialty and he liked to keep it that way. Martial arts were for people who had the skill to back it up. So when he found himself hard pressed against two crows a solid defense of ducking and dodging was all he could manage while he scrambled for attack room.

"You bastards are _fast_," Harry huffed out, blocking a kick snapped at his head.

The deflection cost Harry his bearings and he was caught off guard when his next dodge brought his foot down on the crow's shadow and the world _tilted_.

Harry found himself on his knees in a dark forest that felt every bit as real as the day in his memory. Sirius lay near lifeless next to him on the rocky earth. It was impossible but his eyes didn't deceive him. Harry was back in the Forbidden Forest the night the Dementors came for Sirius in his third year. He would never forget any of it.

It was cold, so very cold as the wardens of Azkaban made their presence known. They glided down from the night sky in their tattered rags like wraiths of lore. Their skeletal hands were all extended out and fingers reaching toward him, reaching for his soul.

His wand wasn't anywhere and they were _coming_. Merlin almighty, where was it? Fear gripped his heart and held it tight until he was shaking. Only the tremors were from the chill in the air when the Dementors exerted their power as they loomed closer. Darkness hovered just behind his eyelids as his vision grew murky, all the while he heard a shrill voice laughing and his Mum screaming in his head, _Not Harry! Please…_

Harry could feel something in him pull loose, weakening. Liquid pain boiled in his insides as it became hard to breathe. Deep magic, he was going to die here in this impossible nightmare. The Dementors of Azkaban were going to Kiss him and eat his soul, like every Trelawney prediction made real.

"You don't look too good," said a soft voice with a hint of humor.

To Harry's left was a pretty young girl in a Hogwarts uniform. She was about twelve and her straw colored hair was in pigtails. She kneeled next to Harry where he collapsed on the ground, smoothed out the wrinkles in her pleated skirt and regarded him with twinkling blue-green eyes.

"Who are—" he struggled to say.

"This is the part where you say Expecto Patronum."

She looked completely unbothered by the frightening monsters or by the struggling breaths Harry took as his face rapidly lost color. His fingers reached outward scraping the dirt under his nails, feeling the ground for his wand.

The girl giggled and folded his fingers around the familiar handle of the white oak and faerie hair wand. "Now I love a bad boy, but you're kind of a troublemaker. Get it together, yeah?"

Warmth spread through Harry's fingertips. Harry barely noted she was clapping her hands gleefully and beaming. Renewed vigor gave him the strength to raise his wand and shout with everything that he was, "_EXPECTO PATRONUM!"_

The entire world was bathed in brilliant blue-white.

Sunlight shined everywhere replacing that awful night. Harry was back on the island, thank Merlin. _What in the bloody bleeding hell was that? _Some type of psychic hallucination or sense memory assault, maybe. He realized he was holding the White Wand and he definitely hadn't been earlier.

Stars exploded across Harry's vision as he took a savage kick to the chin. His vision was blurry as he rolled out on instinct alone, finding his attacker still on him. He brought his wand up to point blank range and battered the crow's torso with a trio crystal blue bolts. The thing's beak split open in a soundless cry taking Harry's next spell straight to the cranium in a spectacular flash. It crashed face first to the earth and Harry moved in for a crippling blow when another crow plowed into him like a freight train.

Harry slammed into the ground in a tumbling roll feeling his entire world flare with excruciating pain. The crow fell from the sky wielding a dark claymore that seemed to waver in and out of existence. The sword came down _through _Harry's stomach with enough violence to embed the ethereal blade into the earth that half of it was buried into the ground where it stayed. Harry's body wavered momentarily in density before detonating violently. Magical power roared around the crow and the blast bathed the ground in cerulean fire.

The real Harry clutched at his bruised ribs from a safe distance away. "Merlin preserve us," he muttered, as the thing walked from the flames with smoke wafting from its smoldering body and a subtle limp. "Give me a break. Bloody super fae."

A ray of incendiary plasma ripped downrage and a crow blurred from Aurora's targeting path; a gleam of suspicion appeared in the Summer Lady's eyes. She evaded another crow coming in on her left flank avoiding the initial heave of talons. The first crow dropped in on her right with its claws flashing in, but she was inside the attack, stopping the downward stroke and retaliating with a burning uppercut that caught the crow directly under its chin. The creature was set on fire as it sailed back in the air.

The remaining crow renewed its onslaught before its brethren even dropped to the ground. Aurora retreated from the shadow blade intending to bury itself in her sternum. Her leg flashed out and the crow weaved the blow effortlessly with its greater speed. Its evasion created an opening that she exploited, willing into existence her own blade of summerlight into her hand. She lunged in and the shadow blade met her glowing short sword. Sparks cascaded off the deflection and Aurora pressed her attack, calling forth her own power reserves to enhance her speed just to keep up with its flowing combinations.

The power Aurora called forth radiated around her in a glowing halo. Her sword shone like a star in the morning and it seemed to carve through the crow's weapon, siphoning through its shadow and forcing the creature to shift into a stance that favored defense. Aurora ducked inside its guard and launched a burning pulse of silver, blasting a hole clean through the crow's chest.

Harry apparated next to her as their foes again regenerated before their eyes. "I'm getting pretty tired of this crap."

_The knife they've been stabbed with has traces of Mother Winter's power,_ Aurora's voice spoke into his mind once more after taking his hand. _The further I come in contact with them the more certain I am. It's the reason they can so easily stand against my power. As Mother Winter is the Queen of Time and Destruction, I suspect it's the reason they can reverse damage done to them. Ruin is her dominion. I also think the knives compress time around their person, subjectively slowing the outside world as their own speed increases exponentially._

Aurora was projecting into Harry's head at the speed of thought but the Crows were regenerating just as fast. A dark blur swooped in for a precision strike administered by one of those shadow blades and the married couple moved instinctively, throwing themselves out of the attack zone.

The Summer Lady stared at the handful of dandelion white hair floating to the ground. She touched a hand to the side of her head where the lock of hair had been shorn off in her hasty evasion.

The Seelie were known as the shining fae. Their kind revered beauty. The Sidhe even more so and some would call them vain. Harry saw the darkening of Aurora's eyes and the line that appeared in her jaw; they were absolutely right.

"Do whatever it takes to obliterate them. Don't worry about damaging this island anymore," said Aurora, her voice made the air suddenly hot, almost suffocating. A burning gold aura began to creep along her body. "Take them down _hard_. If this island's guardian does not like our tactics, drop him."

Aurora lifted her hand revealing the power boiling within her grasp like molten starlight. With a gesture it burned down the ten meter range at roughly the speed of light. The crows disappeared out of range and the attack continued into the forest where it detonated violently in a monster ball of hot-white fire, gnawing its way into the sky and the tidal wave of fire washed into the forest setting it ablaze. Aurora blurred behind the crows and released the bulk of her attack held back strictly for this feint.

Silver detonations roared within the ranks of the formidable quartet, turning the closest two near the blasts into fine mist and outright maiming the others that sacrificed their brethren to death allowing them precious time to fall back.

Thick gray clouds rolled up in the once clear sky bringing with it the cold winds of the north. Rain fell from the clouds in a sudden downpour drowning the fires burning in the woods. Lightning flashed within the clouds and it all was too sudden to be anything natural occurring.

"Can't let the wife do all the heavy lifting," said Harry, coming out from a Disillusionment Charm to the left flank of the injured crows.

Thunder cracked loudly enough to shake the air and a black lightning bolt suddenly pierced the sky. The maimed and regenerating Crows saw the bolt coming a mile away and the devastating lightning poured into the empty earth where they once stood. The 361 gigawatts burst was forced into the soil and Harry grinned darkly dropping to a knee to plunge his wand into the ground, bonding magic and electricity along the imperceptible fractures in the Earth.

"Boom," Harry muttered under his breath.

The ground shattered beneath their feet belching an angry geyser of lava. There was no escape from ground zero and molten rock ripped through the assassins of Winter, vaporizing them outright. The liquid death flowed into the forest completely incinerating trees. Harry ended the spell before it killed them all and the magma super cooled into hardened rock, inert.

Harry wiped the mix of sweat and blood from his face. His entire body ached and his ribs felt bruised but no bones were protruding from his skin, so that was a plus. He rolled his ankle and winced, definitely a fracture or sprain. He was already muttering healing spells on his person when Aurora joined him.

"Bugger that being considerate of the island nonsense. We should've taken them out ages ago," said Harry with a grimace, as the hairline fractures in his shin painfully knitted together.

They were surrounded by devastation. Most of the trees were little more than cinders, some were flattened and the entire landscape was riddled with trenches, smoking scorch marks and numerous craters. It was like a snapshot of a warzone.

Aurora's eyes snapped up and peered through the rain. There was something coming. "Maybe the island's spirit disagrees with the property damage."

* * *

Faecraft and wizardry warred across the land, burned the air apart, and the laws of order was unmade by the powers of mortal magic and arcane. The elements were turned into weapons of mass destruction. The wind became crescent blades of devastating energy, the Earth was a writhing abomination launching crystalline ice shards that flash froze anything on contact, and gravity was completely undone in certain spots where pure magical might collided.

Lea skidded back along the ground, arms crossed at the chest to form an X as she rode the shockwave of the horizontal tornado blasted into her. Two vacuum blades streaked into her position from both directions, shredding through the pink shield around her person. Blood gushed out as the wind cut her in several places in a merciless attack.

"I didn't know you had this in you," said Leanansidhe, bloody, cut up and covered in scraps, and _smiling_.

Furious air cycled around Margaret at high velocity from every vector. "This was never meant for you."

"Neither was this."

An iridescent turquoise ball freed itself from the knife's blade in the Sidhe's grip with violent force, its very launch potential blasting a trench across the crag ridden earth. Wind gathered beneath her heels and Margaret _leapt _clear over the ball of annihilation.

Lea met her in altitude twisting her body to deliver a punch to Margaret's face and kick in the ribs with brick-breaking force behind them. The combo drove the wizard into the ground and Lea used the kickoff to backflip through the air and land on her feet.

"Give up?" Lea asked sweetly.

Margaret looked like she had been through hell and back but she would be damned if she lost this one. She mustered a smile and that was Lea's only warning before she stormed forth. Those transparent blades of wind sliced in putting the Sidhe on full defensive as they crisscrossed the air as intersecting ropes of lethal vacuum energy.

"_Ventus infernus," _Margaret murmured, glaring at her opponent.

The lines of killing wind moved independently and suddenly became flaming ropes of whiplashing intent, untouched by the rain. Lea was an acrobat of aerial maneuvers as the flaming web of wind threatened to tear her to pieces and vaporize her remains.

Getting a second of breathing room, Lea sneered at her attacker. "Fire magic how charming, like mother like son."

The raindrops changed tone, almost like crystal shrieking, and water hardened into sharp icicles with dagger sharp points. Margaret already had a bulk of her power extended to her wind whips when the projectiles poured in. An improvised shield formed over her head as she ducked for cover under a slab of rock.

The fire was extinguished in the hail of winter ice and the vacuum whips fell without Margaret actively concentrating on them, it was too complex a spell.

"Well if you won't come out and play," said Lea quite cheerfully, given the situation.

She pointed the knife at Margaret's hiding place and the rain concentrated on the spot. Innumerable icicles slammed against the wizard's improvised defense and ice solidified into a thick dome at an alarming rate, trapping the woman inside. The rain stopped. It was over as soon as it began leaving the half sphere with its sharply jutting spikes and its prisoner.

Lea inspected the ice cage with an expression of supreme satisfaction. "Another decade in the kennel should straighten that attitude right out."

She touched a finger to the glass-like surface. Something made her stop and she cocked her head, listening. Lea's eyes widened and she leapt back. At the peak of her jump the crystal exploded nailing her straight on with a wave front of high pressure that sent her careening wildly away like a ragdoll.

Margaret stood in the snowfall of falling ice flakes with the Blackstaff in one hand and the other extended, visible currents of air whirling around her hand. She took deep breaths of air body still shaking from the chill of the cage.

Lea got back to her feet and sprang at Margaret with the knife. The weapon with its deceptively small blade begged for her blood. She could feel its malicious intent as she dodged the Sidhe's strikes. Margaret didn't even want to think about what the blade would do if it landed a solid cut. She had her suspicions but there was no way in Hell she was testing them out.

A meter long blade of super dense ice streaked in on her blind side. A vacuum blade knocked it off course from piercing her clean through the torso, but its molecularly sharp edge raked her right side above her hip like a buzzsaw.

"Bitch," Margaret growled, fighting the urge to drop to her knees and curl up.

The knife whipped in to carve her face up and Margaret thrust the Blackstaff forward to deflect the weapon. The blade met dark wood sparks screaming away from each weapon, accompanied by a horrible sensation of _wrongness_, and both fighters were blown away by the mingled energies that detonated in the air like a sonic boom.

"That was unexpected," said Lea, standing up with a new cut running down her jaw. She crossed her arms and watched Margaret recover. "Are you ready to talk now, dear? Transmogrifying you was to save your life from Raith's entropy curse and your own death curse."

Margaret leaned against the staff, glaring. "And keeping me in that cursed state for almost thirty years?"

"For your own protection," replied Leanansidhe coolly.

Margaret snarled and gestured with her hand shifting the airflow around Lea into nearly invisible coils of razor wire, shooting outward in an explosion while catching the Sidhe like an eviscerating net. The slant at which the wall of high pressured air slammed into her was just under the knees, catching her flat footed and knocking her off balance so she rode the coils into the ground at their highest strength. The serrated trap cut into the soil violently as the brunt of the attack impacted, forcing Lea into the earth with heart stopping force.

"That's for your own protection," said Margaret coldly. "Otherwise I might break your neck."

It started as a low chuckle, turned into a rolling laugh, and then blossomed into a full blown cackle that was stereotypical of a witch in every dark fairytale. Margaret's eyes widened as Lea's knife swiped through the jagged grid keeping her trapped.

"You ungrateful, hairless ape," Lea hissed, eyes glowing like liquid fire.

If the comment was any indication of her mood then the next sequence of events confirmed it. Lea lurched forward, closing the distance at high speed while charging a blue ball of super dense ice. She launched the attack at the wizard forcing her evasion left, where Lea's fist met her face making her see stars for an instant.

The Sidhe flowed into a combination tagging Margaret's torso with a blur of strikes that brought the wizard to her knees. Lea lifted her long leg up high into the air and dropped it down into a bone-crushing axe kick that broke Margaret's shoulder and slammed her to the ground on her face. The Blackstaff fell from her limp fingers and rolled beside her.

Lea bent and lifted Margaret's head up by her hair. The woman's eyes were unfocused as she swam lost in her world of pain. "If you were anyone else I would end you. Considering everything I won't even crush your spine for this. I will just consider us even."

The Sidhe released Margaret's hair and she fell to the ground. She shook her head at the broken wizard. Taking her on when she wasn't at her fullest potential had been a risky gamble that hadn't paid off. Lea stood and turned her back on Margaret and realized for the first time she could no longer sense the Killing Crows.

If she was watching the fallen wizard she would have seen the Blackstaff taken up by shaking fingers. A spiral of cold air snapped into place around Margaret, lifting her up in the currents until she was standing, and exploding around her in a violent gale that consumed her. Lea spun around and her shock was apparent at the sight.

"Even?" Margaret asked, looking up at her with steel in her eyes, while the high velocity winds whipped around her and shredded anything within a sixty meter circumference. "You think any of that makes us even?"

She flicked her fingers and Lea flinched as a jagged cut opened in her shoulder in a spray of blood. The wound was on the same shoulder that she broke on Margaret. She lurched forward only to be stopped cold by another nearly invisible line of energy.

"I missed my baby's first steps."

A gash opened in Lea's torso.

"His first word."

Margaret's hand swept out flat along its knife edge and the vacuum energy sliced deep into Lea's wrist. The knife fell to the ground and she clutched at the bleeding wound, staring with cold fury at her attacker. She stumbled back, but held her hand up, sighting Margaret with the incandescent blue sphere formed there.

For the first time Margaret drew on the actual power contained within the Blackstaff, calling on one its most often used spells stored in its matrix; the staff practically begged her to deal death, a siren song of bloodlust, like it hungered for the taste of carnage. All of it was there, in the palm of her hand.

_"Basium de mille daemones."_

Angry purple light boiled around the Blackstaff. Ribbons of darkness wrapped around its length as its true power came forth. Aurora and Harry ran to the edge of the battlefield to see Lea was suddenly bathed in a pillar of pitch black fire. Fifteen meters of necromatic energy screamed into the sky around her, robbing her of every protection charm and spell on her. Dark magic from before there was light hammered into the Sidhe and only the improvised shield kept the winter fae from vaporizing outright as the otherworldly inferno expended its fury, dying down seconds later. Margaret shook her hand out to shake off the visible blackness crawling through her veins. Magic this powerful, this_ dark_, always had a price.

"_Merlin_," Harry breathed, not even noticing Aurora gasp or her taking his hand.

Standing in a glowing orange ring of glass was the Leanansidhe who was smoking and singed, her clothes little more than charred rags. Whatever shield she assembled must have bled most of the power of ethereal fire otherwise she would be a smoldering cinder. She still looked like a trauma unit victim as she fell to her knees coughing up blood.

Margaret dropped to her knees, exhausted, fighting her own body not to shut down from the pain. "Alright," she said, staring into the Sidhe's eyes. "Now we're even, bitch."

"Well played, old friend," said Lea, her face was a bloody mess and even then her smirk made her look sinfully gorgeous. "Answers are what you seek and we're on even ground again. I'll give them to you… soon. You'll see me again if you can find the way back to the frozen citadel."

The Leanansidhe sank into the ground like it was water, distorted waves rippling outward like a horse's skin. Just like that she was gone slinking off to the Nevernever. Maybe she knew a safe Way through the spirit realm from the island. That wasn't important now. Aurora and Harry were at Margaret's side even as the earth returned to solid form again. They helped her to her feet with urgent moves.

"We have to get out of here," Harry said, adjusting her so she leaned her weight on him. He met Aurora's gaze over Margaret's shoulder. "Something's coming."

Margaret found herself jerked forward when the Blackstaff was yanked out of her hand by an invisible force and it rocketed away into the air. Half dozen figures in grey cloaks poured into what had once been a nice bit of forest landscape. Harry jaw clenched as the Wardens fanned out, their dour faces impassive and all business. The center of the intimidating line parted revealing a trio of wizards that walked out to stand in front of the ranks.

The White Council was here and they brought the big guns. Members of the Senior Council, Harry realized with a start.

Harry didn't recognize the grim faced Native American man or the Asian woman with pure white and long hair. Her expression was serene, her dark eyes piercing and merciless. The shortest man was gray haired, gruff looking and was holding the Blackstaff.

"It's impolite to steal a wizard's things. Especially his staff," said the gruff looking one, sharp eyes weighing them. "Talk now or we'll start cracking heads."

Aurora was about to step forward and introduce herself and hopefully pull some strings under the Accords that governed the supernatural nations of the world. Margaret beat her to the punch. She lifted her head so her face could finally be seen clearly and the Council members froze. Their shock paled in comparison to the heartbreaking expression washing over the man whom had been speaking.

"Maggie?"

A tired smile crossed her bloodied face. "And for my next trick, kids."

She passed out.

* * *

**Author's Note**; I'm going to try to keep (somewhat) within canon so Margaret's resurrection makes sense without outright changing Dresden facts. The storyline though is off the rails and is pretty much an alternate reality at this point but in hopefully a good way. As for right now in the timeline its after Summer Knight and before Death Masks.


	25. The White Council Inquisition

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter either. It belongs to its creator J.K. Rowling and probably Warner Bros. too. I'm not too sure about that. This piece of literature is simply the work of a humble fan. I also credit Jim Butcher for various themes, subjects, or references that I may use.

Author Notes: This is a Harry Potter crossover with the Dresden Files the book series. All my knowledge of the Dresden Files comes from the books. I've never seen the TV series. For the timeline that will be stated later. Thanks to the folks at DLP for help with editing.

* * *

**Awaken Sleeper.  
**Chapter Twenty Four: The White Council Inquisition  
by: Water Mage

There was a roar of wind and a terrible earthquake that rocked the island and Harry grabbed onto Aurora to hold them steady. The sky darkened as angry gray clouds blanketed the sun, but at that moment, there was a viridian bolt of lightning, and the sky seemed to split open at the seams. What came forth was something inhuman. Its presence burned the aether around its hulking shape as it rose forth like some titan of old, bolstered by the dark energy of the ley line beneath them.

"Stars above," Harry gasped, as sheer, undiluted eldritch power flooded out across the surface of the island.

The spirit of the island was over twelve feet and was only vaguely humanoid; its shoulders too wide, its stance too crooked, its unnatural frame covered by a voluminous cloak. Green eyes burned from within the darkness of the cloak's hood and it was not pleased with what it found.

"Okay," Harry said, giving his wife a weary frown over Margaret's drooped head. "Do you think its upset about us wrecking the place?"

Aurora readjusted her grip on the unconscious woman and returned Harry's frown. "Your powers of deduction are astounding."

A trace of anxiousness was apparent in her expression that was clear as day. Harry gulped as the dark power thrummed in the air and the wind blasted forth like it came from the depths of the Arctic, almost taking him off his feet. Harry gritted his teeth, fighting the tiredness in his body, and readied his wand, but he wasn't the only one making a stand; a shape moved between them and the angry spirit.

"Wardens, Code Eagle," barked the short, stocky wizard, who recognized Margaret moments ago. He didn't take his stare off the being, unflinching as its hostile aura grew. "Alpha formation and haul ass back to the boat."

A man broke ranks, even as the gray cloaked Wardens took up defensive positions, and his long, grey white hair blew in the force winds as he joined his gruff looking companion. His skin was the ruddy brown of a Native American exposed to plenty of sunshine.

"Feeling left out, Injun Joe?"

Injun Joe serenely faced their adversary, mouth tilted in a slight smile. "You would be terribly missed if the spirit locked you up down below, Ebenezer."

"Ah, I'm touched," Ebenezer replied, as he raised the Blackstaff. "I didn't know you cared."

"I'm not including myself."

They traded fierce, wolfish smiles at each other.

The Wardens obeyed Ebenezer's command and they formed a loose ring formation, beyond them were the married pair and their unconscious companion, but also was the regal Asian woman with snow white hair, sharp eyes taking in the three.

"Formalities will stand for now. Follow me to safety, if you please," she said in a brisk but confident tone that didn't match her tiny fragile frame. "Wardens on me."

Carrying Margaret between them, husband and wife had no option but to follow the Council wizards as they double timed it back to the shore. The entity's eyes flashed and white hot fire gathered before it in a lance rushing toward the wizards, carving a trench coated in ice and frost as it sped forth. Harry glanced back over his shoulder to see Injun Joe dive _into _the ground as easily if the hard earth was a swimming pool. Ebenezer muttered a word and made a slashing motion with his hand. Streams of darkness and light screamed from his staff to meet the onrushing flame, the power of entropic destruction and banefire consumed each other in a crack like thunder and a roiling sense of incomprehensible wrongness, leaving reddish cracks spider-webbing out across the air from the contact point.

_Merlin. _Harry's eyes went round. The warring energies actually _fractured _space.

There was a distant rumble and Injun Joe burst from the ground in a spectacular explosion of soil and rocks. In mid-air his form rippled like heat waves above a desert, changing in a move that was so familiar it stole Harry's breath, because Injun Joe's body simply _flowed _into something different as easily and effortlessly as breathing.

The towering entity didn't go head up against the form of an old man.

Instead, it was tackled by a gray rhinoceros the size of a shuttle bus.

Harry tripped and was forced to avert his eyes to focus on his escape. His heart hammered in his chest as the deep bellows of the rhinoceros melted into the mighty roar of a lion, air shaking with intent and power. Harry didn't have to look back to know that Injun Joe had shifted form again. Comparing the old Native American to an Animagus would be like comparing a caveman learning to create fire to a chemist using that same fire to create napalm.

He didn't dare look back again. Getting off this island was more important than watching three juggernauts duke it out with powers Harry didn't wholly fathom. They hastily made their way to the ramshackle dock where a white rental boat wallowed alongside their own craft, about twenty feet longer and intended for luxury rather than waterskiing like theirs. Harry was glad the Council wizards had the extra space because without Talos behind the wheel he didn't have a clue how to captain their boat.

They were ushered onto the craft by the dour looking Wardens and the wheel was immediately grabbed by a buff looking wizard who looked like he was made of solid muscle. He was tall, had a short beard of patchy brown and grey, both his long hair caught in a ponytail and cloak flapped in the harsh wind. He barked orders over the roaring gust and his fellow Wardens obeyed his commands as they loosened the line, unsecured the boat, and prepared for take off. The engine rumbled to life as they turned out toward enormous expanse of the turbulent lake waters.

Harry carried Margaret bridal style into the cabin down below. He sat her gently on the bed mindful of Ancient Mai's watchful stare. He didn't like the way she stared at Margaret. The displeasure was barely apparent but it was there all the same. Aurora must have sensed that he was about to say something rude because she stepped in front of Harry and bowed her head without taking her eyes off the woman.

"The sun's light brightens upon our meeting," Aurora said, once the woman bowed in turn. "You must be Ancient Mai."

"Lady Summer," Ancient Mai replied. "I admit this is an unexpected predicament."

"The White Council's involvement in this affair is indeed unexpected," said Aurora simply.

Harry unfortunately knew Aurora quite well and there was no way she was going to just hand out information to the old woman. Aurora barely told Harry all the Machiavellian schemes she had in play and she actually liked him. He was going to follow her lead in this and close ranks. They might not always get along but if it was her or the White Council, he knew where he stood.

"We tracked the theft of a Council artifact," Mai watched Harry continuously wave his wand over Margaret, murmuring healing charms under his breath. Stark curiosity shone in her dark eyes. "We did not anticipate you and your husband or a wizard who has been dead for over two decades."

Aurora shrugged one slim shoulder. "The Summer Court's business is its own."

"And I will leave the Summer Court to answer it," said Ancient Mai with a smile that was empty as Mab's heart. "The White Council does have questions and we will have answers all the same."

She stared directly at Margaret.

"What are you going to do to her?" Harry asked, glancing at her while keeping a careful eye on the bones knitting together in Margaret's arm.

There was a kind of youthful beauty in Ancient Mai's features leftover from the ravishing young woman she once was. Harry could imagine her as the gorgeous wizard she used to be. There was too much hardness in the set of her mouth now and she made him on edge. She was not someone to turn their back to.

"We have ways to verify truth from lies," Ancient Mai said. "We will unveil the mystery of this supposed resurrection."

Harry tilted his head. "You don't think she's really Margaret Dresden do you?"

Ancient Mai's laugh was brief and lacked real mirth. "At face value? Of course not, Lord Summer. That luxury is for the peacetimes. The White Council is at war." Her next comment was directed Aurora, "You should know all about the nuisances of warfare."

Harry mentally winced at the jab. It had only been four weeks since the Faerie War. Aurora had played her role as the pawn so flawlessly that no one believed her sane. After all, it took madness to want to see the world end. Oberon's head on a pike outside Lux Sanctum was her true goal. Everything else be damned.

"Do I know about war?" Aurora's expression was unwavering. "In the winter nobles hide in their castles with their harvest and men huddle around their pitiful fires, women cry as their babies freeze. They all pray for the cold winds to die, and when the ice melts and the flowers bloom that's the time of passion and bloodshed. Under the sun is when rage is most absolute. Summer is the season of battle." Aurora smiled. "So yes, wizard, I do know a thing or two about war. I am war."

It was oddly sexy, thrilling almost, the elegant way Aurora made her point. Green eyes traced the curve of her neck and Harry's throat went suddenly dry as something between his lungs smiled and pulsed and shattered and it hurt in the best possible way. His eyes went round and he suddenly pictured a burning fire in his mind because _bloody bleeding hell_. He was _not _going there. Using every bit of Occlumency training from years ago, Harry fed all his emotions into that burning pyre until he was empty.

"The song of summer is the clash of swords," Ancient Mai inclined her head, taking no insult from the counter. "My mentor told me once when I was a girl."

The Summer Lady simply nodded. "Margaret Dresden is a friend. I wish to stand with her when she faces her peers. I will confirm her testimony."

Ancient Mai considered her a moment, expression remote. "I wouldn't truly believe her claim if she didn't have at least one of the Fey on her side."

"Lefay, your people called her," Aurora acknowledged. "A worthy name."

Harry stood up and sighed. "She's stabilized. She just needs to rest."

The forces Margaret tapped into with the Blackstaff was death and it was ruin. The destructive principle released by Margaret still made ice creep under his skin. Harry hoped the wizard she knicked the staff from was merciful otherwise it was going to get ugly. Although the way that stocky old man looked at Margaret, it was like he was seeing a miracle. Maybe…

"Ma'am," one of the Wardens called down. "You might want to see this."

Mai's white silk robes billowed behind her as she moved quickly up the stairs. Aurora and Harry were right behind her and the boat rocked as it sailed away from the island. They moved between the Wardens at the back of the boat and caught sight of what held their attention.

The water crystallized, freezing solid in a track that raced across the lake in seconds. Ebenezer ran above the path of ice toward the boat like the hounds of hell were on his heels. Viridian lightning fell from the sky and struck the path originating at the shore. Green fire consumed the ice, racing after the wizard in an blaze of deadly, unnatural flames.

He wasn't going to make it. Harry raised his wand. _"Accio—"_

Ebenezer raised his arms and leapt off the ice track. Instead of meeting icy lake waters, a giant eagle the size of a pickup swopped down and grabbed him with its talons even as the ice bridge went up in a fiery inferno. A piercing cry echoed in the sky and the mighty bird flew toward boat where it dropped Ebenezer rather unceremoniously on the bench beside the wheel. Despite his age he was nimble enough to catch himself from tumbling over to the deck.

Ebenezer wiped mud off his flannel shirt and scowled up at the sky. "I know you did that on purpose, wiseguy."

The eagle descended toward the boat and its wings flapped once and twice and then its form was flowing into the grinning face of Injun Joe. He stuck his hands inside his jeans and ignored Ebenezer's glowering expression.

"That doesn't sound like thank you," Injun Joe pointed out.

Ebenezer laughed, shaking his head. "You'll sooner see that fifty bucks we bet back in '52."

"Reneging?" Injun Joe smirked. "Typical."

When Ebenezer turned to Ancient Mai his expression blanked, a dark frown making his face severely grave. "Where is she?"

"Down below," she replied, simply.

He nodded. "Listens-to-Wind?"

"Of course," replied "Injun Joe" Listens-to-Wind. "You will have privacy to interrogate her."

Harry still had his wand in hand when he made his presence known. "It'll be in your best interest not to harm her."

"Lord Summer," Ebenezer said, calmly. "If she's the real McCoy she won't ever have anything to fear from me."

It wasn't like Harry could stop him really. He was phenomenal at manipulating magic for combat but Ebenezer was a powerhouse of pure destruction. Harry stepped aside and the shorter man nodded and continued on his way below deck.

Injun Joe turned his gaze to the Warden captaining the wheel. "Morgan, take us full speed away from the island."

Morgan nodded and the boat's engine roared as he punched it. The deck was getting a little crowded so the Wardens fanned out and moved at different points to stand sentry, watching the island behind them dissapear until it was speck on the horizon.

"Brilliant," Harry exhaled in relief. "This place is cursed."

Injun Joe traded a look with Ancient Mai and the woman shook her head. He stared at Harry for a moment. "That island is far from cursed. But it is prideful and holds grudges. It will be in your best interest to never step foot there again."

Aurora inclined her head, smiling faintly. "I am fully aware of the island and its original purpose. But it's good to see you again, Listens-to-Wind."

Injun Joe's smile was worn but genuine. "You've grown, little dawn."

Harry tilted his head. "You've met?"

"When I was small and this land was young," Aurora replied with an enigmatic stare, causing Harry to raise an eyebrow. He couldn't resist.

"You look good for your age."

Aurora thought on it for a moment. "Merely good?"

Harry rolled his eyes. "Merlin preserve us. You Seelie are so vain."

Injun Joe's full attention was again on Harry. "Merlin? You're the wizard of Summer." He looked at Aurora. "Your husband?"

Did everyone know about their marriage? There had to be a newsletter he didn't subscribe to. This was getting ridiculous. Harry needed to start gathering contacts in the supernatural nations because he was tired of being clueless. It was like his early years in the wizarding society.

"Yes," Aurora answered. "And the king who is to come of the Summer Court."

Harry waved and put on his poshest accent. "Hello."

Injun Joe's dark eyes sparkled and he looked between the married pair, nodding. "Your rule will be unlike anything known."

Especially if Aurora had it her way, Harry mentally tacked on.

"Are we going to the White Council headquarters?" asked Harry.

Injun Joe nodded. "We will dock the boat and then take the Ways through the Nevernever to the Hidden Halls."

"The Hidden Halls of Edinburgh," Aurora murmured. "I hope the Council is pleased with the Ways that Mab has granted them through her territory."

"They satisfy the needs of the Council."

They got comfortable on the bench because it was going to be awhile before they returned to the mainland. Ancient Mai sat on the opposite bench facing them between two Wardens who stared straight ahead, like they were in the military. The old woman's eyes were half closed but Harry had no doubt she was aware of every inch of her surroundings. She was dreadfully creepy.

Harry's hand reached out, fingertips barely brushing against Aurora's. He remembered the sensation of her speaking into his mind and focused on projecting his thoughts, holding on to that feeling with his willpower.

_Aurora I'm not comfortable with this_, Harry thought directly through their connection that hummed between his veins like the warm kiss of summer entwined around the vitalizing caress of magic. It felt sort of intimate, this closeness.

Aurora's lips turned down in the slightest of frowns. _Dear husband, the Council has been underestimating the Sidhe Courts for millennia. They're not nor will they ever be a threat to us._

Her overconfidence was going to bite her in the ass one day. Harry refrained from sighing and thought, _If things go south I'm apparating us out_.

_Agreed_, said Aurora's calm, charming voice.

A few minutes later as the coastline appeared as a dot in the distance, Ebenezer climbed up from below deck. His face was very pale, but there was something like quiet happiness around his eyes. Injun Joe raised his eyebrows and Ebenezer nodded at his silent question. The Native American shoulders sagged a bit and a tension Harry hadn't noticed was released.

"Be that as it may, she has much to answer for." Ancient Mai said, interpreting the silent exchange. "The Senior Council will have to gather for an inquisition."

Ebenezer gave Mai a chilling look. "There won't be a trial. She's committed no crime."

"She stole the staff of your office," Mai said in a flat tone.

Ebenezer's jaw tensed up. "Borrowed. Not stole."

Injun Joe faced Mai and shook his head. "He's right in this. Margaret Dresden has broken no Laws of Magic or committed crimes of treason."

The nearby Wardens traded looks with one another when he said that. Harry realized until this moment they hadn't really known who the unconscious woman really was. Some might have recognized her but hearing her identity confirmed was alarming. Harry didn't miss the way the wizard at the wheel entire body went suddenly stiff, a dark frown transforming his face. It looked like Margaret didn't have a friend in Warden Morgan.

Ancient Mai lifted her chin haughtily. "We are at war, gentlemen. Do not mistake my cautiousness for pettiness. The massacre at Archangel was the fault of a traitor who knew its defenses inside and out."

"Surely you don't mean?" Ebenezer refused to say the rest.

The old woman's stare was firm. "The inquisition will give us our answer."

Ebenezer thrust out his jaw but made no other argument, leaning back against the railing and crossing his arms. He turned his stare to Harry who straightened up when those knowing eyes found his. The old wizard let out a breath.

"She's asking for you."

Harry frowned. _That _he wasn't expecting. He stood up and left Aurora to sit with the at odds wizards and she looked terribly amused by it all. Politics was the faerie version of foreplay. The old man's stare followed Harry all he way down the stairs and he looked like he sorely wanted to follow along behind him.

It was only eight steps down the staircase and the cabin opened up around him. Light streamed in through the windows throwing golden oblongs of sunshine across the floor. Harry stopped in his tracks at the sight before him. Margaret sat up on the bed in her tattered clothes, legs crossed, and hands cupped around her mouth. She whispered into her hands, flickering purple light peeking out between her fingers. Dark eyes lifted when she caught sight of Harry.

Margaret's hands open and something that looked part falling star and part hummingbird darted through the air. The bright nimbus of light streaked past Harry in a blur of color and he caught sight of a tiny pair of wings and purple-hued hair before it was gone.

"Was that a faerie?" Harry asked. "One of the Little Folk."

"The Wyldfae are excellent freelance agents," Margaret remarked. She stared at him intently and muttered, "I can't believe you're real. Empty night, look at you."

Harry narrowed his eyes, considering her. "This is about the soulgaze. Most people go temporarily mad when they see my soul, but you—"

"I know exactly who you are, Harry Potter," Margaret interjected, her voice calm, unshakable. "You restored me to sanity and I remember everything. Why I almost died, the enemy we face, what's coming, Everything."

"What you said about me," Harry trailed off.

Margaret considered her words for a moment. "Higher powers play games with the fates of men. Sometimes they arrange events in our favor." She shook her head. "And if you're here we are well and truly fucked."

Harry's brain took a minute to catch up to fact that Margaret was talking about _him. _The sudden understanding made him freeze and it's like they're in this vacuum and there was nothing but him and this solemn woman looking back at him in this dangerously quiet little cabin.

"What do you mean, _if I'm here_?" Harry said and his voice came out low, like he was afraid to wreck this, whatever this was.

"You're the Hammer reborn."

He frowned. "Is that supposed to mean something to me?"

Margaret's eyes burned intensely, staring into him. "If there's no hope and no end in sight for the world's suffering your bloodline is the last failsafe."

Harry's muscles coiled tightly instinctively ready to disapparate away from this woman and her harbingering words, but he couldn't. Harry was held in a trance and he barely realized he uttered, "Explain," through clenched teeth until she was replying.  
_  
"In the last days when darkness descends and the night is empty there will be a war for the dawn. If those star borne warriors fail, the world fails with them. And oaths are kept and the widow will wail when the last scion takes up arms, and if the hammer, born again of a dream, falls that final blow will be dealt to all," _Margaret recited. "You're the hammer. And when the Outsiders and their masters overwhelm this world you're the means of our mutually assured destruction."

Harry ignored the pounding in his heart as another prophecy stitched his future together in scenes that failed to hold shape in the current light. A small part of him had known it would come down to a terribly epic answer to his lot in this alternate life, but Harry held on to a fleeting hope on his being here amounting to some type of accident. A hiccup of fate.

"Words are words, Mrs. Dresden," Harry murmured. He stuck his hands in his pockets, feeling for one dreadful moment like he was fifteen and hearing Trelawney's prophecy all over again. "I'm brilliant with a wand but knowing how to kill Outsiders, and the world right along with them? I think not. Reckon you got the wrong guy."

Sunshine fell across Margaret as she leaned forward, washing her face in gold and highlighting the somberness lingering in her eyes. "I saw into your soul. You are the hammer. In you is the power to destroy the Outer Gates. And the backlash of godflame will kill us all."

She was absolutely insane. He wanted to go home but tearing down the Outer Gates was crazy. Was such a thing even possible? He knew firsthand what was beyond the borders of this world, what existed between this reality and between all others.

"Godflame?" he asked, a thousand thoughts whirling through his mind.

Margaret's grim frown was identical to her son's. "The ultimate fuck you."

A slight tremor shook the deck and the sudden noise of the boat docking made them both freeze. Footfalls echoed down the stairs and just like that all the air rushed back into the room. The bizarre moment of suspension, the two of them baring truths of shrouded pasts and shapless futures, was broken and Harry took a step back as Wardens entered the cabin. The both of them were still locked on each other as the gray cloaked wizards moved to escort the woman off the boat.

Aurora moved to Harry's side when he came above deck. She took one look at his expression and looped her arm through his. "What troubles you, my husband?"

"Not here," he said under his breath.

A thoughtful gleam flashed in her eyes and she nodded without saying a word, thankfully. He followed along silently as his thoughts darkened his eyes and sent his head spinning. Why should he take Margaret Dresden's word? This morning the woman had been utterly mad. How could she know about his family, his entire bloodline? He might be a little lost but he wasn't some promised gatebreaker. The sheer enormity of what she was proposing made his heart trip and stutter and stop. Certainly, Harry already concluded his ancestry was relevant to how he ended up here, but there were too many pieces. He had them all but failed to understand how they lined up. Harry swallowed a slight bubble of hysteria. And if Harry, who had no handle on his talent, was so special, then what did that make Aiden?

The Council wizards moved quickly to hustle them off the boat. The married pair followed along as the Wardens cast a veil to hide their movements from the few people along the shore. Three Wardens took point and three more guarded the rear as they swiftly moved across the wharves to a narrow walkway between two old supply stores.

They came to a dead end and Ancient Mai wasted no time in flicking her fingers at the wall. A neat, perfectly rectangular portal to the Nevernever appeared as quiet as a whisper and without fanfare. They moved through the Way between worlds.

It was perfect autumn weather in Chicago, pleasantly warm for late afternoon. They emerged in a dark wood covered in a thick layer of snow and Harry knew with certainty that he'd been here before when the chill of the land of endless winter hit them in a sobering gust of cold wind. The small mountain they stood upon was the center of a crossroads. The hillside sinking before them and rising again into the night was called Icereach. At the top was the pass that led into the heart of the Unseelie Mountains, to Mab's stronghold of Arctis Tor.

Aurora shot him a look. He nodded, already guessing she was masking their presence from Mab's sight. She'd gotten good at shielding them when they snuck around the Nevernever. They weren't popular these days. If Mab knew they were here…

"Come along," Aurora said, pulling him from his thoughts.

They didn't take the path right leading into the Seelie Plains, where Mab's authority ended and Titania's began. The trail they set off led to the left, following the face of the hillside in a counterclockwise direction. Margaret gazed around the forest almost wistfully. Odd noises of strange animals filled the Winter wood, some cries haunting, others beautiful like a siren song and tugged at the heartstrings, and others were the quiet and faint whisperings of the trees themselves.

"You're using one of my old Ways," said Margaret, nodding to a tree whose trunk had been carved with a pentacle.

Ebenezer nodded as the group turned off the forest path onto a foot trail. "Aye. Our various retreats and Paths in the Nevernever aren't safe. This was a compromise we struck with Winter."

Margaret cut her eyes to him sharply. "Who would be bold enough to threaten the Council's holdings?"

He visibly hesitated, lips turning down in a frown. "Now's not the best time to say."

"Wizard Dresden," Ancient Mai smoothly cut in. "As of eleven months now the White Council and Red Court have been at war." Her stare was piercing. "A war started by your son."

Ebenezer looked daggers at the old woman. "Ancient Mai!"

A hundred emotions cycled through Margaret's eyes in an instant, like the frames of a film reel, spinning and spinning and spinning. Mai watched them all go by, they all did, wondering which one would lock in place. After an excruciating wait, Margaret's eyes finally settled on something Harry knew very well.

"That's my boy," Margaret stated, not bothering to hide her defiant grin. "To Hell with them all. They had it coming."

Listens-to-Wind smiled slightly at the fire in her voice. "It's nice to see time hasn't dulled your passion."

Warden Morgan made a noise from his lead position that sounded an awful lot like disagreement. Margaret snapped her head around to focus on him. "I haven't acknowledged your unremarkable existence for a reason, Morgan. Now do the same and we'll be peachy keen."

"Easy, Donald," Ebenezer warned the Warden, calmly staring Morgan down.

Morgan nodded sharply but didn't wipe the sour expression from his grim face moving more swiftly through the evergreens. The path led up to a clearing in the woods. Smack dab in the center of the clearing was a mound of earth about a dozen yards across and almost as high, thick with stones and vines. Thick slabs of rock formed the posts and lintel of a black doorway. Several grey cloaked wizards stood before the doorway with staffs, wands, batons, and swords, all magical foci, and all pointing directly at them.

The line of wizards eyed the group coming down the trail with stoic faces and didn't drop their guard until they all moved properly into the light.

"Wardens, at ease," Morgan barked and they relaxed, lowering their magical weapons.

"Is that—" A middle aged Warden at the doorway began, gaping at Margaret, who blew him a kiss.

Listens-to-Wind cleared his throat. "The time will come for that later, Warden Pekovic. The will of the Council takes precedent."

"Yes, Sir," Pekovic said, snapping his eyes away from Margaret.

"We seek entry to the Hidden Halls, O Warden," Morgan's voice rang out in a solemn baritone. "May we pass?"

Pekovic straightened, giving him a crisp nod. "Be welcome to the seat of the White Council. Enter in peace and depart in peace."

There was something about the words that rubbed under his skin and made him vaguely uncomfortable in a way Harry couldn't place. The security protocols had to be jinxed. It was brief and was over as quickly as it came as they stepped through the archway.

The tunnel was dimly lit in a rainbow of color by crystals set into the walls bathing the corridor in an ambient illumination. They set off down the sloping, dank tunnel and the old walls were coated with bas-relief carvings and protection sigils and wards that thrummed with sleeping, deadly power. Harry idly wondered if Hogwarts had such security measures anchoring its ancient wards when he took another step and his world flared with light as ethereal green threads wavered into existence like—

A slim hand slipped into his tugging him along and the strings of fate faded into the aether. Beneath his feet a shuddering power raced underground like a silent, dangerous river of energy.

Aurora gave him a look and whispered into his ear, her lips pressing against his earlobe, "A ley line."

Like the one beneath the island, Harry started to say, and Aurora nodded before he could voice his question. He looked down at her hand holding his and shook it loose before she picked up anymore of his surface thoughts from their connection.

Harry looked away and accidentally caught Listens-to-Wind's measured gaze. The old wizard turned his head away without a word and continued following the group down the tunnel. Lovely. He was on a Senior Council member's radar. This day was getting better and better. At random intervals there was gated checkpoints, each manned by a Warden and a pair of temple-dog statues that followed their movements with lifeless granite eyes.

The silent protectors were three feet high at the shoulder, and looked like something Hagrid would love as a pet. They were ferocious even immobile with stone teeth ready to do some serious damage. Harry frowned at the protectors, mentally working out the chain of transfiguration spells and charms it would take to animate one in such fashion. Enchantments were never his forte. The arithmancy always went over his head. Give him a defense spell any day of the week.

The entry tunnel from the Nevernever was more than a quarter mile walk before they entered into the main corridor. Aurora trailed her fingers over an elaborate carving in the stone as they passed it, a haunting scene of titans driving twisted, monstrous creatures into the sea and around them the world burned.

"The lord of the Daoine Sidhe ruled here once," Aurora stated almost absently. "This was a considerable stronghold before your Merlin seized it."

Ebenezer snorted. "There's no need for the revisionist history. He was given ownership fair and square."

"Remarkable for a mortal," Aurora said.

Harry shook his head. "I know you meant that in the best possible way."

She blinked. "Of course."

"Tact, Aurora. Tact."

Her answer to that was a demure look that made him sigh because she got her jollies from seeing his disapproval. So far the headquarters of the White Council of wizards wasn't anything terribly impressive. It was a dim and drafty sort of place, a network of tunnels, all underground without any sort of orientation markings. Of course that was just to confuse intruders. If this was once a palace of the Daoine Sidhe Lord then it had multiple levels and chambers that were architectural marvels. Whenever they passed other wizards pacing the Hidden Halls their company was given a wide berth, stares following after them.

"If you will follow Warden Morgan," said Ancient Mai when they came to a split in the corridor. "He's going to escort you to the guest suites where you can refresh yourselves and rest until the hearing begins."

"Will Margaret be joining us?" Aurora asked.

That was a damn good question. Harry for one wanted to pick up their conversation where they left off. Ebenezer was the one who answered.

"No," he said. "She needs a medic to check her out and there's sensitive information we need to go over."

"Is Wizard Roseau still in charge of the hospital ward?" asked Margaret.

Listens-to-Wind nodded. "He hasn't missed a day of duty."

Margaret grimaced. "Great."

Ebenezer rubbed his jaw and squinted at her, sighing, "Stubborn to a fault," but there was a note of immense happiness behind his frown.

He nodded at Aurora and Harry and gently helped Margaret along across the hall, flanked by two Wardens, and they rounded a corner.

"Allow us time to organize and you will be informed before we start the proceedings," said Ancient Mai, bowing to them both before sweeping away with the Wardens at her back.

"I'll make sure someone guides you to the Speaking Room," Listens-to-Wind said before he too departed down the same corridor.

There was a beat of silence in the hall.

"Follow me." Morgan didn't look too pleased, and Harry wondered if that was his default expression.

They trailed after the wizard as he set pace through the tunnel complex. It was ten minutes of silent walking, passing quite a few other wizards, before Harry let his curiosity take over. He matched the gruff wizard's stride and cleared his throat.

"So," Harry began. "You and Margaret Dresden go way back, yeah?"

Wizard Morgan grunted.

Harry nodded. "I'll take that as a yes. So you must know her son, Harry. Really tall guy, dark hair, wears a coat everywhere and looks like a cowboy."

Morgan eyed Harry obliquely. "I do."

"Uh, right," Harry said. This guy needed to relax. "Do you know if he's going to be around today? I need to talk to him and explain—"

"I'm a Warden and my duty is to the will of the White Council," he said, voice laced with clear authority. "I'm no friend to violators of the laws, mother or son."

Harry blinked and shot him a look. "You have a lot of feelings."

Aurora sighed to herself shaking her head as they took the next left. Morgan glowered at Harry and then nodded at a young Warden on guard, opened a door, and passed into the receiving room of the guest suites. It was set up like a drawing room with a number of expensive comfortable-looking sets of furniture spaced around the square room. There was a long table against a wall filled with an array of foods, everything from roasted meats, strawberry pies, pomegranates, biscuits, and bottles of wine and cider stood next to the buffet, the least toxic choice amongst the other bottles of alcohol.

A set of five steps led up to a raised section of the floor that was like a miniature balcony that spanned the back of the room and doors opened onto what had to be the guest chambers. Crystals adorning the ceiling glowed more brightly here, a sharp contrast to the dim illumination of the hallways.

"There's a dignitary from the Fellowship of St. Giles staying in the chambers through the left door. She should be in meetings all day. The other rooms are free. It's going to be a few hours before they start."

Morgan managed a short nod before he left them alone. Probably going somewhere to sharpen his sword or practice his scowl in the mirror. Harry sighed.

"Finally."

Aurora sat down in a comfortable leather armchair, then gestured to the nearby couch. "Please sit. I believe we have much to discuss."

Harry sat pulling out his wand as he did so. "_Muffliato!"_

"A spell for sound?" Aurora asked.

"You caught that from the muffled bit, right?" Harry guessed and she nodded. "It's a neat spell that makes our conversation unintelligible to any listening ears."

"Very useful," Aurora agreed. Her expression grew clouded. "You've been troubled since you talked with Margaret Dresden."

Harry grimaced as it all came back to him. It whirled in his mind again and none of it made any sense. He leaned forward on the couch and tried to order his thoughts into some sense of coherency. When he spoke it was with a measure of trepidation, because if Aurora had answers to his questions, he had a feeling it wouldn't be any he liked.

"What do you know about the Hammer reborn?"

"Why would you want to know about—"Aurora froze abruptly and her eyes went distant for a moment and then focused with a sudden intensity, and he could see the light behind them flaring with thoughts. All the breath left her chest in a slow exhale and she caught his stare, speaking quietly, "How certain is she?"

Harry shrugged. "She seemed pretty confident I was this person."

"Dark days," his wife sighed. "You must understand I probably know less than she does. The Gatekeeper and Mab razed Babylon to the ground and all trace of that prophecy went with the city. Surely the Archive would know but even then getting her to tell you anything is a lost cause since she's bound to neutrality."

"Why would Mab even care?" Harry's head was spinning.

Aurora pursed her lips for a moment. "It's complicated. Ask me again some other day."

"So it's true then? This person can destroy the Outer Gates."

"So it's foretold."

Harry shook his head and muttered, "I need some air."

"We're beneath Edinburgh Castle, so I doubt you'll find getting fresh air simple," she stated. "I wouldn't try your translocation ability to appear on the surface. It would take a god to overpower these wards."

Funnily enough only one bit struck a cord within. "We're in Scotland?"

"The current home of the White Council for over half a century."

It was strange how easily the memories of Hogwarts came with just those few words. The pang of homesickness struck him just as hard as it did three years ago. It was the people more than places that mattered and he missed his friends now more than ever. Hermione and that crazy bag of hers probably had answers in there somewhere. Ron would complain before doing something foolishly brave. Then his thoughts unexpectedly wandered to how Aurora would get along with his friends. He ran his hand through his hair and blew out his breath, suddenly feeling tired.

Harry cancelled the spell with a flick of wand and stood up. "I'm going to lie down for a bit."

Aurora was silent for a while. Then she said, "If we fail to stop my father and his circle they will release the Old Ones and let in the Outsiders."

He looked away. "I know."

Harry didn't say anything else. He knew where she was going with this. Whether he liked it or not he was linked to the events of the prophecy. It wouldn't be a stretch to theorize himself as the promised hammer. And if it came to pass, he was humanity's vengeance. He felt sick.

With weary footsteps Harry walked up the balcony and passed into the far right door along the wall. The first room he came to was a sitting room. An open door to the left showed a glimpse of a sink, so that had to be the bathroom. A shower was on his to-do list, later though. Another door just ahead of him was closed but it opened into the bedroom. He fell on top of the massive bed without taking off his shoes. He was exhausted, really, from all the fighting earlier, from the journey here, from the prophecy, from everything, and he was realizing just how much of a longshot they really had in succeeding. He was tired of all these fights and he was tired of searching for a way back home and he was tired of telling himself soon, soon, soon. It was too much on his shoulders, all these things, Summer Lord, husband, a fugitive, and maybe now a foretold killer. A long fall from savior.

Harry felt the bed dip and Aurora's voice came quiet in the dark, "Shhh."

She crawled up next to him so very carefully with only the faint rustling of her clothes and the sounds of their quiet breathing was heard in the room. Aurora slid in front of him gently lifting his arm, so it rested around her waist. She pressed her back to his chest, his fingertips barely brushing against the smooth strip of skin on her stomach from where her shirt had ridden up. And it fit. It fit so well it was scary. Harry started to pull back but her fingers wrapped around his forearm and held him still, and they stayed like that for a while just breathing, fitting together, and it was like they were finally in sync.

A month ago, or a week ago, or yesterday, maybe Harry would have pushed her away or hexed her into tomorrow, but he was just so tired. He could barely keep his eyes open. It was a bizarre sensation feeling his body shut down. It was probably because he'd been tense all day so he was acutely aware of his muscles relaxing, starting at his shoulders and then down to his feet, tendons pulling loose and his body pliant. Aurora was warm in his arms and she made a humming noise of satisfaction when he pulled her close, tucking his face into her neck, and her hair fell across his nose smelling of lilacs. It was calming in a way he couldn't place.

They fell asleep like that, or at least Harry did. When he felt the blanket pulled over them, Harry woke delirious from a dream more asleep then awake really. He felt disconnected, almost out of body when he felt, as if from very far away, Aurora's fingers in his hair, and then Aurora's lips ghosting over his face, trembling where they pressed against his forehead, his mouth, a soft sigh of breath against his lips. He thought he heard her say, quietly, "Sleep well," and then, "stupid boy." He forgot it all as soon as he slipped fully into sleep.

* * *

The inquisition was held in what the Council called the Speaking Room, which was a roundabout way of saying auditorium. Because that's what it was with its rows of stone benches rising in a full circle around a small circular stage, in the style of the Greek theaters from ages ago. There were maybe four hundred wizards in attendance and they filled only a third of the seats. An impressive number since they were mostly wizards already present in Edinburgh and those members coming on such short notice. If all Council members came there was no way they would fit inside this room.

Security wasn't a care they took lightly. Wardens formed a ring all the way around the stage, two at the doors, and in the aisles between the rows of benches. It was eerily reminiscent of the Wizengamot with everyone wearing formal black robes, with stoles of silk and satin of various colors and trim to denote their status. Some of Council's members wore blue stoles, some red, few in gold, and there was braided cords and emblems stitched on most, some type of badge of merit or class.

Harry and Aurora sat on a stone bench set over to one side of the stage floor, looking terribly out of place. After a good shower, Aurora laid a glamour on their ragged clothes. They were royalty of the Sidhe and had to look the part. Harry felt very smart in his pearl-grey three button suit. Aurora's scarlet crepe wool dress matched his tie. The dress had long sleeves with black satin cuffs and her skirt stopped just below the knee. Her white hair fell over her shoulders in gentle curls. Harry thought they both looked simply smashing.

Everyone was staring at them.

Harry was ready to get this show on the road. The sooner they cleared this up the sooner he could finish his talk with Margaret. A door shut with a bang and an old woman entered in complete ceremonial dress, plus the grey cloak of the Wardens. She had iron grey hair, cropped short at her ears, and her bearing was solid like a soldier. She too carried a staff and bore a sword at her side, a polished, long and elegant scimitar.

The quiet conversation that filled the room died when all gazes fell on to her. Harry wondered who she was to ensue such respect when she banged her staff three times upon the floor, and the seven members of the Senior Council entered in their dark robes and purple stoles. Ancient Mai, Listens-to-Wind, Ebenezer, and the stern Martha Liberty he recognized from years ago, and even the mysterious Gatekeeper was a familiar presence in his hooded cloak.

Harry didn't recognize the gaunt faced wizard among them, but he definitely knew of the wizard that led the group. The Merlin, the title given to the leader and most powerful of the Council, and he did the title justice. Arthur Langtry was a tall man, broad shouldered, with snowy white hair falling past his shoulders and a flowing silver beard. He was as close as this world came to having an Albus Dumbledore in terms of formidable reputations. He was in charge of one of the strongest organizations on the planet for a reason. They took up positions at the rear of the stage standing nobly.

A Warden appeared escorting the woman of the hour. Margaret was looking decisively better than we they parted now in formal black robes and red stole, with an embodied silver compass rose. There was a classic elegance to her facial features, a faint haughtiness, hinting of aristocracy as she faced her peers with her head held high.

"Tibi gratias ago pro vobis attendentes, adiutores meos concilium membra," the Merlin began speaking in flawless Latin.

It wasn't that big of a leap to understand why speaking in Latin was ideal when dealing with an international organization such as theirs. It was an old language and wizards tended to adapt bits of it to their spellcraft. Harry picked up some of it over the years just by osmosis. He could hold a conversation well enough if he kept his sentences simple. He actively started listening so he could translate.

"We are here today for an inquisition. This is not a trial of justice but a matter of truth, to hear the testimony of one Margaret Dresden, whose alleged death occurred twenty seven years ago, validate her claims, and determine if she has been compromised in her absence." He then gestured with his hand.

Warden Morgan came forward to place a glittering, cylindrical crystal about a foot long in front of Margret's feet. Behind that, he set a pitch black candle, which he lit with a muttered incantation. Crouching down, Morgan framed the candle with his hands and murmured again. Pale light streaked from the candle into the crystal in a glowing stream and shot up out of the crystal again in a large cone stretching up above the stage, eight yards across at the top. Within the cone of light appeared Margaret's face, like the magical equivalent of a jumbotron from a sports arena.

"Nice," Harry muttered.

He got the general impression the other wizards in the room were impressed as well. The Merlin nodded, "Wizard Peabody could not be reached in time and the usual formality of transcribing will be dispensed in favor of recording these proceedings for review. We will begin with authenticating her identity before the Council."

The woman who wielded the staff and sword was identified as Warden Luccio, Captain of the Wardens. Luccio revealed her acquaintanceship with Margaret from years ago and verified her character with a soulgaze before the Council. A soulgaze couldn't be faked or misled; it was a window into their soul. If that wasn't enough, Ebenezer calmly disclosed looking upon Margaret with his Sight earlier and confirming her identity.

"Margaret Dresden," the Merlin said, "how do you explain the circumstances of your alleged death?"

She shrugged. "How do most stories start? At the beginning, I guess." Margaret let out a long, deep breath. "For you to understand how I 'died' you have to know how I lived. I know this Council has little respect for my ideals. You've called me optimistic, brash, naïve, arrogant—and shortsighted, yes. I made some mistakes and I paid for them all. I vowed to never be so crippled again for the whole of my life. I knew my time was coming up and readied for it."

"Your 'death' while giving birth was not a natural accident?" Martha Liberty asked.

"It was a murder attempt," Margaret replied, in equally perfect Latin. "I'm not so naïve as to believe the Council didn't know. I'm sure your investigations proved that it was a ritual entropy curse. I knew it was coming for me and I prepared accordingly."

The Merlin's facial expression didn't change from its solemn mask. However there was a sudden sharpness to his gaze. "Wizard Dresden, are you accusing this Council of a cover-up?"

Margaret half smiled, shrugging. "Of course not, honored Merlin. I misspoke."

"That would not be the first time," the gaunt faced Senior Council member added smoothly. "How do you explain your dead body we discovered?"

He was rail-thin of medium height and build. He had no hair on his head at all, not even eyebrows. His cheekbones were sharp enough to cut glass and his eyes bulged out from his thin face, giving him an almost emaciated appearance. He returned Margaret's false smile with his own.

"Are you certain it was my body, Wizard LaFortier?" she asked. "You're the expert on magical creatures. Not humans."

A murmur ran through the room, Lafortier dropped his skeletal smirk, and Aurora, at Harry's side, chuckled, "Dresdens."

Lafortier's voice lashed out at the woman, harsh and cold, "Then enlighten us, Wizard. Tell us true what happened that night twenty seven years ago."

"The nature of the entropy curse manipulates probabilities of death. I knew childbirth would be me at my most vulnerable. I made a number of enemies and very few people I could call friends in those days. So I made a deal. I didn't have a lot of time and it wasn't detailed as I wanted it to have been." She shook her head and looked frightfully angry at herself for a moment. "In exchange for saving my life I made Leanansidhe the godmother of my child."

The Merlin waved a hand. "Your contract is known to us but not its nature."

Margaret nodded. "It was Halloween when my attacker struck with his entropy curse. The energy caused my organs to fail and in my dying breath I sent that bastard my death curse, and I made him pay."

"What did the Leanansidhe do to save your life?" Martha Liberty asked, getting straight to the point. "Using your death curse should have taken your remaining energy and killed you."

"That's when Lea intervened and tethered me to herself feeding me her own life energy. My organs were still failing, so she got rid of them." Besides the clenching of her fists Margaret's face was blank, her expression never changed. "She transformed me into a beast dog. I was sloppy in our bargain. My life was saved but it was hers from then on, and for the last twenty seven years I've been one of her pets."

The surprise in the room was almost tangible.

Some of the wizards looked indifferent and a few satisfied, as if Margaret deserved what she got, but mostly there was anger. A whole lot of it.

The Merlin looked around the room. The quiet murmuring went silent. He nodded once. "Is there anyone who can confirm this? The Senior Council cannot just take your word—"

Aurora stood up.

Words were lost as the Merlin stopped talking. Everyone in the room went still. Margaret glanced to the side to see Aurora stand and a slow smile spread across her face. Gesturing to the stage the Merlin motioned that she had the floor. He gave her his full attention.

"The White Council acknowledges Aurora, Lady of the Summer Court of the Sidhe," the Merlin said smoothly, without missing a beat. "Do you have testimony collaborating her story?"

Aurora nodded. "I do. It was I who rescued Margaret in her transformed state from Leanansidhe's frozen citadel."

"A convenient alibi but not fullproof. Remember that someone leaked the defenses of Archangel to the Red Court," Lafortier said to the room. "Wizard Simon Pietrovich's wards were completely bypassed. Let this Council not forget who his apprentice was. Wizard Justin DuMorne, friend to Wizard Margaret Dresden."

"Pietrovich is dead?" Shock softened Margaret's face. "Archangel's a fortress. I wouldn't even know how..." Margaret trailed off and she shook her head, frowning now. "And Dumorne is an asshole. Calling him my friend would be like labeling me and you as friends."

Lafortier glared. "Disrespectful to your core. Just like your son."

"Chip off the old block," Margaret snapped back.

Ebenezer held up a hand. "This isn't the first time you've laid blame for that tragedy onto others, Wizard Lafortier. We'll find answers but not like this."

Listens-to-Wind nodded. "Wizard McCoy is right. Let's hear the rest of the tale before we start seeking justice for events still clouded."

"Lady Summer," said the Merlin calmly. "Can you testify to the mental state of Wizard Dresden when you found her?"

Aurora swept her eyes across the room. "If its secrets you're worried about, then rest at ease. The curse shattered her human mind into pieces. She was a beast and nothing more. Her transformation was complete." She lifted her hand to tuck her hair behind her ear. "It was by Summer fire that Winter's enchantment was melted and undone."

Harry stood up. "It's true. Everything in her mind was just broken. I was the one who healed her."

"Harry Potter, Lord of the Summer Court of the Sidhe," the Merlin named him and Harry's eye twitched a little at being _known_, but he wasn't one for politics. Never had been.

"I remember you," Martha Liberty said, as recognition slowly shone across her face when her and Harry met gazes. "You've climbed quite a bit in the world, Lord Summer ."

Harry shrugged, a little pleased that she remembered him positively, and not for knocking around a Warden. "You look as lovely as ever, Wizard Liberty."

She snorted. Then she looked sideways at the Merlin. "He does have considerable skill with magic."

Ancient Mai nodded. "I agree. I watched him heal Wizard Dresden's critical injuries on the journey here. He's strong in the Art."

"And solely bound to Summer," said Aurora, reaching over to lace her fingers through Harry's.

_Do not ever let them soulgaze you, my husband, _came Aurora's voice into his mind.

Harry squeezed her fingers and thought back, _Or you_.

He dropped her hand and stepped forward. "My powers returned Margaret's mind to her and I swear on my magic that she is wholly herself again."

It was a big thing for a wizard to swear on his magic in this universe. If a wizard broke their vow they would find their magic severely weakened. A little hindrance Harry didn't suffer from but they didn't need to know about that. The Senior Council members looked appeased by his oath, glancing at each other, all except the Gatekeeper for some reason. The hooded wizard kept his sights on Harry alone.

"There are a lot of accusations being thrown around and you should really be thanking me," Margaret said, lifting her chin.

The Merlin's sudden focus on her even made Harry's breath stutter. "And why is that, Wizard Dresden?"

She ignored his measured tone. "My would-be killer was the White King. When I used my death curse on him I did the world justice."

LaFortier's frown was ugly upon his thin face. "Used and wasted. Lord Raith still lives. He's protected against magic. One of many reasons why he rules the White Court."

"You don't say," Margaret said, feigning astonishment. Her expression flipped like a switch turning predatory. "Do you think I just bumped into him in a bar somewhere? I didn't want to kill him. If I did another bastard would just take his place." Her dark eyes gleamed. "My death curse rendered Lord Raith unable to _feed_."

"Do you know what this means?" Ancient Mai said in a breathless tone, turning to the Merlin.

The Merlin's mouth opened in sudden surprise and understanding. "It means that the White King is virtually powerless," he said heavily. "and has been for over two decades."

All hell broke loose.

The commotion in the room was ear ringing. No one could believe it. Even Aurora was shocked staring at Harry with round eyes. The White Court of vampires was a race of succubae with formidable powers at their disposal. They were once just as ruthless as the Red Court and focused on an outwardly-oriented expansionist agenda. That changed decades ago and these days the Court was consumed by infighting and power-defense. No one knew the reason for their stagnation until now. The White King _couldn't _get aggressive, like in the past, without power to back it up. He was probably functioning on reserves like a car running on its last tank of gas. Margaret's death curse did more than render him powerless, she crippled the entire White Court.

"Order," the Merlin called and the room grew quiet after a reluctant moment. He cleared his throat. "I'm declaring an hour recess. The Senior Council will deliberate over this new information. The inquisition is adjourned for now."

The Senior Council withdrew off the stage. Harry watched as Captain Luccio joined Margaret's side and they began to talk in low voices. Aurora took a step closer to Harry and then frowned. A shadow fell across Harry and he turned to find the Gatekeeper towering over him.

"Last we met I told you that your questions would wait because our hour was not yet at hand," the Gatekeeper said, quietly. "Our place in time has arrived. Come with me, Mr. Potter. We have much to discuss."

_He should bloody well think not_. Harry's heart heaved in his chest and he took a panicky step back. "Look, I'm not going to destroy the gates. I mean, Margaret told me. I know what you want to talk to me about. And I'm saying it right now you have nothing to worry about I—"

"She told you nothing," the Gatekeeper interjected. His deep, resonant voice didn't sound surprised. "You still don't know who you are."

Harry waved away Aurora, who was moving to his side. "Then tell me," he demanded.

"Trails, paths, endings, beginnings, the impossible probabilities." The Gatekeeper shook his head. "You have seen the doorways. It is in your blood, in your name—Potter, creator, shaper, maker of things."

"What?" Harry stared into the depths of that hood, glimpsing his gaunt face and metal and silvery looking eye when the Gatekeeper leaned down closer to him. Harry's entire body was buzzing so loudly that there was no other sound in the room.

It wasn't just his imagination. The wizard had done something with his hand so the sounds of the room warped together into a blur of noise. It was some type of vacuum bubble reminiscent of the Muffliato Charm. The Gatekeeper reached up to his cowl with his black leather gloves, pulling back the hood a little, and Harry caught a flash of a thin grey beard against bronze skin.

The Gatekeeper leaned closer and whispered near Harry's ear. "The Outer Gates didn't just raise themselves. Janus built them and in you his blood runs strong." He took a step back to study Harry's shocked reaction. "Like I said, we have much to discuss. Come along."

* * *

**Author's Note**; there you go. Finally some answers, well for the most part. I'm sure you can make an intuitively leap to figure it all out with what's known so far. For sure the next chapter will detail Harry's abilities and Aiden's and the return of Harry Dresden.


End file.
